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PHANTOM  CLUB 
PAPERS 


PRINTED  FOR 
THE    CLUB 


MILWAUKEE 
1906 


j_  -±  '£  J  o  J 


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•    •   .   <■. 


Id  06 
PREFATORY. 


The  publication  of  this  small  volume  calls  for  a  few 
prefatory  words. 

One  pleasant  day  in  August,  1893,  a  few  friends — 
all  residents  of  Milwaukee  and  Waukesha — made  a  visit 
to  a  farm  near  Phantom  Lake,  in  Waukesha  county, 
partly  on  business  and  partly  for  pleasure,  and  before 
their  return  called  on  the  late  John  F.  Potter,  a  former 
distinguished  member  of  Congress,  with  whom  they  had 
a  most  interesting  visit.  These  gentlemen  were  John  R. 
Goodrich,  John  Johnston,  Horace  Rublee,  William  P. 
McLaren,  James  A.  Bryden,  Benjamin  K.  Miller,  Sr., 
E.  W.  Chafm,  Richard  E.  Labar  and  Rolland  L.  Porter. 
The  attraction  of  the  lake  and  its  environment  proved  so 
alluring,  and  the  occasion  so  enjoyable,  that  some  one 
suggested  a  repetition  of  the  visit  during  the  summer 
following  (1894).  This  suggestion  met  with  a  hearty 
response,  and  out  of  it  sprang  the  organization  of  the 
Phantom  Club,  of  which  John  R.  Goodrich  was  elected 
and  remains  president.  It  was  proposed  at  the  outset  to 
limit  the  membership  to  twelve,  but  later  the  number  was 
enlarged  to  fourteen. 

Prior  to  the  month  of  June,  1894,  Gerry  W.  Hazel- 
ton  and  John  G.  Gregory  were  elected  members  of  the 
Club,  and  Mr.  Gregory  was  chosen  Historian  and  Secre- 
tary. Mr.  Labar,  having  removed  to  New  York,  re- 
signed his  membership,  and  the  lamented  death  of  Mr. 


4  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

Rublee  created  another  vacancy.  These  vacancies  were 
filled  by  the  election  of  John  W.  P.  Lombard  and  DeWitt 
Davis.  Others  have  been  elected  from  time  to  time. 
These  are  William  H.  Osborn,  Joseph  V.  Quarles,  James 
G.  Jenkins,  George  R.  Peck,  Louis  J.  Petit  and  Ogden 
H.  Fethers. 

With  unbroken  regularity,  the  Club  has  taken  its  sum- 
mer outings  since  1893  at  Phantom  Lake  or  some  other  of 
the  beautiful  lakes  of  Waukesha  and  Walworth  counties, 
and  these  occasions  have  come  to  be  looked  forward  to 
with  special  interest  and  pleasure.  Saturday  and  Sunday 
have  been  set  apart  for  these  outings,  and  exercises  not 
unsuitable  to  the  day  have  been  arranged  for  the  fore- 
noon of  the  Sabbath,  some  attractive  location  beinp- 
selected  for  the  purpose,  sheltered  from  the  rays  of  the 
summer  sun,  "where  the  birds  make  music  all  the  day." 

The  Saturday  evening  exercises  have  been  miscel- 
laneous and  not  easy  to  describe.  Sometimes  they  have 
taken  the  form  of  a  moot  trial  of  some  offending  member  ; 
at  other  times  the  evening  has  been  devoted  to  remin- 
iscences, discussions,  short  speeches  and  other  suitable 
diversion.  It  is  proper  to  add  that  the  Club  has  been  en- 
tertained from  time  to  time  by  different  members  at  their 
own  homes  or  at  the  Milwaukee  Club,  and  these  gather- 
ings have  never  failed  to  afford  the  highest  measure  of 
social  enjoyment. 

At  the  last  meeting  of  the  Club  a  resolution  was 
adopted  instructing  the  Secretary  to  select  from  the  pa- 
pers read  before  the  Club  at  its  annual  meetings  material 
for  publication  in  a  small  volume,  and  under  this  instruc- 


PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS.  5 

tion  the  present  volume  is  published  for  the  members  and 
their  friends. 

It  is  needless  to  add  that  through  the  fellowship  inci- 
dent to  such  an  organization  the  members  have  been 
drawn  more  closely  together,  and  enabled  to  realize  the 
genuine  value  and  significance  of  the  society  of  kindred 
spirits. 

Since  the  death  of  Horace  Rublee,  the  Club  has  been 
called  upon  to  lament  the  loss  of  B.  K.  Miller,  Sr., 
William  P.  McLaren  and  John  Johnston — a  loss  which 
is  deeply  felt  by  every  surviving  member. 

The  honorary  members  of  the  club  are  Richard  E. 
Labar  of  New  York;  Dr.  Benjamin  F.  Deering  of  Paris. 

So  long  as  John  F.  Potter  lived,  the  Club  was  in  the 
habit  of  calling  upon  him  at  his  home  on  the  occasion  of 
its  annual  outings,  and  these  visits  were  enlivened  by 
reminiscences  of  his  experience  in  Congress  in  the  early 
period  of  the  controversy  between  the  representatives  of 
the  North  and  the  South ;  and  it  has  often  been  a  matter 
of  regret  that  these  conversations  could  not  have  been 
stenographically  reported  and  preserved. 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 

Prefatory,         .......  3 

The  Kingdom  of  Light,  George  Record  Peck,  -  -  9 
Abraham  Lincoln,  Judge  Joseph  V.  Quarles,  25 
The  Phantoms'  Outing,  John  Goadby  Gregory,  -  42 
The  Hosts  of  Phantoms,  Judge  James  G.  Jenkins,  -  43 
The  Phantoms,  John  Goadby  Gregory,  -  -  -  52 
Alexander  Hamilton,  Gerry  W.  Hazelton,  -  53 
Faith  vs.  Collaterals,  John  Johnston,  -  -  63 
The  Fated  Army,  John  Goadby  Gregory,  -  -  80 
The  Phantom  of  Phantom  Lake,  Rolland  L.  Porter,  -  81 
Was  Shakespeare  a  Lawyer,  or  a  Lawyer  Shakes- 
peare? DeWitt  Davis,  87 
One  of  the  Marvels  of  Creation,  Gerry  W.  Hazelton,  -  109 
Appendix,     -------  119 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  LIGHT. 


By  George  Record  Peck. 

It  is  a  very  beautiful  custom  which  calls  this  club  to- 
gether each  year  in  the  season  when  nature  is  most  gen- 
erous with  her  ministrations.  These  are  the  days  when, 
out  of  her  illimitable  store,  she  brings  beauty  and  har- 
mony to  lives  which  are,  perhaps  unconsciously,  becoming 
discordant  and  out  of  tune.  Rest  is  something  more  than 
the  mere  ceasing  from  toil ;  it  is  the  emancipation  of  soul 
and  body  from  care.  It  is  not  simply  loafing,  but  loafing 
with  an  invitation  to  the  soul,  as  was  Walt  Whitman's 
habit.  These  literary  exercises  which  you  weave  into 
hours  of  relaxation  serve  to  remind  us  that  the  world  is 
waiting  to  receive  us  back,  when  our  play-spell  is  over. 
It  would,  I  suppose,  be  more  in  accordance  with  the  current 
of  events,  and  of  ideas  which  are  clamoring  continually  for 
expression  in  these  modern  days,  if  I  should  offer  some  re- 
flections on  themes  of  immediate  and  pressing  importance. 
Such  themes  there  are;  and  by  force  of  circumstance 
some  of  them  have  stared  me  in  the  face  with  a  persist- 
ency not  altogether  agreeable.  It  is  not  because  I  un- 
derestimate them  that  I  have  chosen  to  ask  you  to  rest 
for  a  little  while  in  a  serener  air.  The  hungry  problems 
of  to-day  will  have  their  hearing  without  asking  your 
permission  or  mine.  The  age  is  restless ;  it  is  self-asser- 
tive; it  is  pleased  with  the  sound  of  its  own  voice,  and 


10  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

confident  in  the  strength  of  its  own  arm.  And  yet,  there 
are  doubts  and  misgivings  in  the  minds  of  thoughtful 
men,  who  find  themselves  dumb  to  the  questions  thev 
cannot  help  asking.  When  social  and  economic  problems 
press  upon  us  almost  constantly ;  when  the  men  of  labor 
and  the  men  of  capital  count  themselves  as  belonging  to 
separate  classes,  and  neither  trusts  the  other;  when  the 
mysteries  of  supply  and  demand,  the  prospect  of  coming 
crops,  the  out-look  for  trade,  and  the  hazard  of  business 
are  with  men  by  night  and  by  day,  we  may  be  sure  that 
the  highly  artificial  mechanism  we  call  civilization  is 
liable  almost  any  day  to  some  painful  dislocation. 

But  of  these  things  it  is  not  my  purpose  to  speak.  I 
allude  to  them,  because,  as  it  seems  to  me,  every  one  must 
be  sensible  of  their  importance,  and  must  feel  that  their 
shadow  is  never  lifted,  save  for  little  intervals, — and  may 
I  not  add,  upon  occasions  such  as  this  ? 

Fellow  Phantoms,  it  is  probably  not  your  habit  to  call 
yourselves  philosophers,  but  nevertheless  I  suspect  that 
each  of  you  nurses  a  consoling  belief  that  he  is  one.  It 
is  this  opinion  which  gives  to  men  of  your  age  that  little 
air  of  condescension,  that  tone  of  gentle  patronage,  as  if 
to  say  "See  how  much  I  know  about  life  and  its  duties." 
But  while  you  are  listening  to  these  sweet  self-com- 
mendations, you  might  perhaps  hear  some  unanointed 
outsider  remark,  "Yes,  doubtless  you  are  a  philosopher, 
but  if  you  are  so  very  wise,  why  have  you  so  little  to 
show  for  it?"  Ah!  that  is  the  question.  How  many 
centuries  is  it  since  Plato  was  writing  those  immortal 
dialogues,  which  have  bewitched  the  minds  of  men  from 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  LIGHT.  1  1 

his  age  to  ours,  but  have  left  us  still  struggling  to  make 
knowledge  and  conduct  go  hand  in  hand,  and  wisdom  and 
character  true  reflections  of  each  other?  Nothing  is  so 
easy  as  to  state  sound  ethical  doctrines, — nothing  so  diffi- 
cult as  to  live  up  to  them.  I  suppose  that  more  than  half 
the  literature  in  the  world  consists  of  good  advice, — the 
rest  is  the  story  of  manv  stumblings  by  the  way,  many 
mistakes,  many  failures,  with  here  and  there  glimpses 
which  leave  but  little  save  the  ever  unsatisfied  inquiry : — 

"Whither  has  fled  the  visionary  gleam, 
Where  is  it  now,  the  glory  and  the  dream?" 

Ah !  if  there  were  some  method  of  living  by  which  we 
could  keep  the  glory  and  the  dream,  the  problem  would 
be  solved.  When  I  think  of  the  mistakes  you  have  prob- 
ably made,  and  of  those  I  have  certainly  made,  I  sur- 
render the  position  of  philosopher,  and  can  only  stammer 
with  George  Eliot's  Theophrastus  Such,  "Dear  blunder- 
ers, I  am  one  of  you."  Some  of  us  will  perhaps  never  be 
wiser  than  we  are  now.  I  wish  I  could  be  sure  we  shall 
never  be  less  wise.  Wisdom  has  a  habit  of  lingering, 
while  the  years  speed  onward  toward  our  common  destina- 
tion. 

It  is  not  for  me  to  enter  the  domain  of  religion,  nor  to 
trench  upon  ground  occupied  by  men  who  have  been  spe- 
cially called  to  the  work.  I  speak  only  of  the  life  that 
now  is ;  how  its  highest  compensations  can  be  won,  its 
rewards,  if  you  please,  attained;  its  sorrows  mitigated, 
and  its  joys  increased  and  multiplied. 

And  this  is  the  lesson  I  would  give:  Dwell  in  the 
kingdom  of  light.     And  where  is  that  kingdom?    What 


12  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

are  its  boundaries?     What  cities  are  builded  within  it? 

What  hills,  and  plains,  and  mountain  slopes  gladden  the 

eye  of  its  possessors?     Be  patient,  my  fellow  Phantoms. 

Do  not  hasten  to  search  for  it.    It  is  here.    The  Kingdom 

of  Light,  like  the  Kingdom  of  God,  is  within  you.     And 

what  do  I  mean  by  the  Kingdom  of  Light?     I  mean  that 

realm  of  which  a  quaint  old  poet  sang  those  quaint  old 

lines : 

"My   mind   to   me  a  kingdom   is, 
Such  perfect  joy  therein  I  find.*' 

I  mean  that  invisible  commonwealth  which  outlives  the 
storms  of  ages  ;  that  state  whose  armaments  are  thoughts  ; 
whose  weapons  are  ideas  ;  whose  trophies  are  the  pages  of 
the  world's  great  masters.  The  Kingdom  of  Light  is  the 
kingdom  of  the  intellect,  of  the  imagination,  of  the  heart, 
of  the  spirit  and  the  things  of  the  spirit.  And  why,  per- 
haps you  are  asking,  do  you  make  this  appeal  to  us?  How 
dare  you  intimate  that  we  are  not  already  dedicated  to 
high  purposes,  and  enrolled  among  those  who  stand  for 
the  nobler  and  better  things  of  human  life?  Take  it  not 
unkindly  if  I  tell  you  frankly  that  a  little  plainness  of 
speech  will  not  hurt  even  such  as  we.  All  experience  has 
shown  that  it  is  at  our  age — or  thereabouts — that  men  are 
most  prone  to  grow  weary.  It  is  not  in  the  morning  of 
the  march,  but  in  the  afternoon  that  soldiers  find  it  most 
difficult  to  keep  step  with  the  column  that  follows  the 
colors. 

I  have  appealed  to  you  for  wdiat  I  have  called  the  in- 
tellectual life.  By  the  intellectual  life  I  mean  that  course 
of  living  which  recognizes  always  and  without  ceasing  the 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  LIGHT.  13 

infinite  value  of  the  mind ;  which  gives  to  its  cultivation 
and  to  its  enlargement  a  constant  and  enduring  devotion ; 
and  which  clings  to  it  in  good  and  in  evil  days  with  a 
growing  and  abiding  love. 

The  Kingdom  of  Light  is  open  to  all  who  seek  the 
Light.  This  may  seem  a  mere  truism,  since  every  one 
admits  the  superiority  of  the  mental  over  the  physical  na- 
ture. But  that  is  where  the  danger  lies.  All  admit  it, 
but  how  few  act  upon  it?  How  many  men  and  women 
do  you  know  who  after  they  have,  as  the  phrase  goes, 
finished  their  education,  ever  give  a  serious  thought  to 
their  mental  growth?  They  have  no  time;  no  time  to 
live,  but  only  to  exist.  Do  not  misunderstand  me :  I  do 
not  expect,  nor  do  I  think  it  possible,  that  the  great  ma- 
jority of  people  can  make  intellectual  improvement  their 
first  or  only  aim.  God's  wisdom  has  made  the  law 
that  we  must  dig  and  delve,  must  work  with  the  hands 
and  bend  the  back  to  the  burden  that  is  laid  upon  it.  We 
must  have  bread ;  but  how  inexpressibly  foolish  it  is  to 
suppose  we  can  live  by  bread  alone.  Granting  all  that 
can  be  claimed  for  lack  of  time ;  for  the  food  and  clothing 
to  be  bought,  and  the  debts  to  be  paid,  the  truth  remains — 
and  I  beg  you  to  remember  it — the  person  who  allows  his 
mental  and  spiritual  nature  to  stagnate  and  decay  does 
so,  not  for  want  of  time,  but  for  want  of  inclination.  The 
farm,  the  shop,  and  the  office  are  not  such  hard  masters 
as  we  imagine.  We  yield  too  easily  to  their  sway,  and 
set  them  up  as  rulers  when  they  ought  to  be  only  servants. 
There  is  no  vocation,  absolutely  none,  that  cuts  off  entirely 
the  opportunities  for  intellectual  development.  The  King- 


14  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

dom  of  Light  is  an  especially  delightful  home  for  him 
whose  purse  is  not  of  sufficient  weight  to  provide  a  home 
elsewhere,  and  a  humble  cottage  in  the  Kingdom  can  be 
made  to  shine  with  a  brightness  above  palace  walls.  For 
my  part  I  would  rather  have  been  Charles  Lamb  than  the 
Duke  of  Wellington,  and  his  influence  in  the  world  is 
incalculably  the  greater  of  the  two.  And  yet  he  was  but 
a  clerk  in  the  India  House,  poor  in  pocket,  but  rich  be- 
yond measure  in  his  very  poverty,  whose  jewels  are  not 
in  the  goldsmith's  list.  The  problem  of  life  is  to  rightly 
adjust  the  prose  to  the  poetry ;  the  sordid  to  the  spiritual ; 
the  common  and  selfish  to  the  high  and  beneficent,  for- 
getting not  that  these  last  are  incomparably  the  more 
precious. 

Modern  life  is  a  startling  contradiction.  Never  were 
colleges  so  numerous,  so  prosperous,  so  richly  endowed 
as  now.  Never  were  public  schools  so  well  conducted, 
or  so  largely  patronized.  But  yet,  what  Carlyle  perhaps 
too  bitterly  calls  "the  mechanical  spirit  of  the  age"  is 
upon  us.  The  commercial  spirit,  too,  is  with  us,  holding 
its  head  so  high  that  timid  souls  are  frightened  at  its  pre- 
tensions. It  is  the  scholar's  duty  to  set  his  face  resolute- 
ly against  both. 

I  can  never  be  the  apostle  of  despair.  The  colors  in 
the  morning  and  the  evening  sky  are  brilliant  yet.  But 
I  fear  the  scholar  is  not  the  force  he  once  was,  and  will 
again  be  when  the  twentieth  century  gets  through  its 
carnival  of  invention  and  construction.  We  have  cul- 
ture; what  we  need  is  the  love  of  culture.  We  have 
knowledge;  but  our  prayer  should  be:     Give  us  the  love 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  LIGHT.  15 

of  knowledge.  It  may  be  wrong,  but  I  sometimes  wish 
Nature  would  be  more  stingy  of  her  secrets.  She  has 
given  them  out  with  so  lavish  a  hand  that  some  men  think 
the  greatest  thing  in  the  world  is  to  persuade  her  to  work 
in  some  newly  invented  harness.  Edison  and  the  other 
wizards  of  science  have  almost  succeeded  in  making  life 
automatic.  Its  chord  is  set  to  a  minor  key.  Plain  living 
and  high  thinking,  that  once  went  together,  are  trans- 
formed into  high  living  and  very  plain  thinking.  The 
old-time  simplicity  of  manners,  the  modest  tastes  of  our 
fathers,  have  given  way  to  the  clang  and  clash,  the  noise 
and  turbulence  that  characterize  the  age.  We  know  too 
much ;  and  too  little.  We  know  the  law  of  evolution  ; 
but  who  can  tell  us  when,  or  how,  or  why,  it  came  to  be 
the  law?  We  accept  it  as  a  great  scientific  truth,  and  as 
such  it  should  be  welcomed.  But  life  has  lost  something 
of  its  zest,  some  of  the  glory  that  used  to  be  in  it,  since 
we  were  told  that  mind  is  only  an  emanation  of  matter,  a 
force  or  principle  mechanically  produced  by  molecular 
motion  within  the  brain.  When  the  telephone  burst  upon 
us  a  few  years  ago,  the  world  was  delighted  and  amazed. 
And  yet  we  were  not  needing  telephones  half  as  much  as 
we  were  needing  men ;  men,  who,  by  living  above  the  com- 
mon level,  should  exalt  and  dignify  human  life.  I  some- 
times think  it  would  be  wise  to  close  the  patent  office  in 
Washington,  and  to  say  to  the  tired  brains  of  the  invent- 
ors, "Rest  and  be  refreshed."  We  hurry  on  to  new  de- 
vices which  shall  be  ears  to  the  deaf,  and  eyes  to  the  blind, 
and  feet  to  the  halt;  but  meantime  the  poems  are  un- 
written and  hearts  that  are  longing  for  one  strain  of  the 


16  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

music  they  used  to  hear  are  told  to  be  satisfied  with  the 
great  achievements  of  the  twentieth  century.  The  wisest 
of  the  Greeks  taught  that  the  ideal  is  the  only  true  real; 
and  Emerson,  our  American  seer,  who  sent  forth  from 
Concord  his  inspiring  oracles,  taught  the  same.  I  may 
be  wrong,  but  I  cannot  help  thinking  that  neither  here 
nor  hereafter  does  salvation  lie  in  wheat,  or  corn,  or  iron. 

Again  I  must  plead  that  you  will  take  my  words  as  I 
mean  them.  I  do  not  preach  a  gospel  of  mere  sentiment, 
nor  of  inane,  impracticable  dilettanteism.  The  Lord  put 
it  in  my  way  to  learn,  long  ago,  that  we  cannot  eat  poetry, 
or  art,  or  sunbeams.  And  yet  I  hold  it  true,  now  and 
always,  that  life  without  these  things  is  shorn  of  more 
than  half  its  value.  The  ox  and  his  master  differ  little 
in  dignity,  if  neither  rises  above  the  level  of  the  stomach 
and  the  manger. 

The  highest  use  of  the  mind  is  not  mere  logic,  the 
almost  mechanical  function  of  drawing  conclusions  from 
facts.  Even  lawyers  do  that ;  and  so  also,  to  some  extent 
as  naturalists  tell  us,  do  the  horse  and  the  dog.  The 
human  intellect  is  best  used  when  its  possessor  suffers  it 
to  reach  out  beyond  its  own  environment  into  the  realm 
where  God  has  placed  truth  and  beauty  and  the  influ- 
ences that  make  for  righteousness.  There  is  no  such 
thing  as  a  common  or  humdrum  life  unless  we  make  it  so 
ourselves.  The  rainbow  and  the  rose  will  give  their 
colors  to  all  alike.  The  sense  of  beauty  that  is  born  in 
every  soul  pleads  for  permission  to  remain  there.  Cast 
it  out,  and  not  all  the  skill  of  Edison  can  replace  it. 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  LIGHT.  \  7 

It  is  the  imagination,  or  perhaps  I  should  say  the 
imaginative  faculty,  that  most  largely  separates  man  from 
the  lower  animals,  and  that  also  divides  the  higher  from 
the  lower  order  of  men.  We  all  respect  the  multiplica- 
tion table,  and  find  in  it  about  the  only  platform  upon 
which  we  can  agree  to  stand ;  but  he  would  be  a  curiously 
incomplete  man  to  whose  soul  it  could  bring  the  rapture 
that  comes  from  reading  "Hamlet"  or  "In  Memoriam." 
The  thoughts  that  console  and  elevate  are  not  those  the 
world  calls  practical.  Even  in  the  higher  walks  of  sci- 
ence, where  the  mind  enlarges  to  the  scope  of  Newton's 
and  Kepler's  great  discoveries,  the  demonstrated  truth  is 
not  the  whole  truth,  nor  the  best  truth.  As  Prof.  Everett, 
of  Harvard,  has  finely  said  in  a  recent  work,  "Science  only 
gives  us  hints  of  what,  by  a  higher  method,  we  come  to 
know.  The  astronomer  tells  us  he  has  swept  the  heavens 
with  his  telescope  and  found  no  God."  But  "the  eye  of 
the  soul"  outsweeps  the  telescope,  and  finds,  not  only  in 
the  heavens,  but  everywhere,  the  presence  that  is  eternal. 
The  reverent  soul  seeking  for  the  power  that  makes  for 
righteousness,  will  not  find  it  set  down  in  scientific  for- 
mula. I  hold  it  to  be  the  true  office  of  culture — if  I  may 
use  that  much  derided  word — to  stimulate  the  higher  in- 
tellectual faculties ;  to  give  the  mind  something  of  that 
perfection  which  is  found  in  finely  tuned  instruments  that 
need  only  to  be  touched  to  give  back  noble  and  responsive 
melody.  There  is  a  music  that  has  never  been  named ; 
and  yet  so  deep  a  meaning  has  it  that  the  very  stars  keep 
time  to  its  celestial  rhythm. 


18  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

"There's  not  the  smallest  orb  which  thou  beholds't, 
But  in  his  motion  like  an  angel  sings, 
still  quiring  to  the  young-eyed  cherubin; 

Such  harmony  is  in  immortal  souls." 

The  dwellers  in  the  Kingdom  of  Light  have  a  stead- 
fast love  for  things  that  cannot  be  computed,  nor  reck- 
oned, nor  measured.  In  the  daily  papers  you  may  read 
the  last  quotations  of  stocks  and  bonds,  but  once  upon  a 
time  a  little  band  of  listeners  heard  the  words,  "Are  not 
two  sparrows  sold  for  a  farthing?"  and  went  away  with  a 
lesson  that  Wall  Street  has  yet  to  learn. 

And  now  you  are  scornfully  asking  "Do  you  expect 
men  to  earn  money  by  following  these  shadowy  and  in- 
tangible sentiments,  which,  however  noble,  are  not  yet 
current  at  the  store  and  market?  We  must  eat  though 
poetry  and  art  and  music  perish  from  the  earth."  Yes, 
so  it  would  seem,  but  only  seem.  I  cannot  tell  you  zvhy, 
but  I  am  sure  that  he  who  remembers  that  something 
divine  in  him  is  mixed  with  the  clay,  shall  find  the  way 
opened  for  both  the  divine  and  the  earthly.  You  will 
not  starve  for  following  the  Light.  But  I  beg  of  you  to 
remember  that  this  is  not  a  question  of  incomes  or  profits. 
The  things  I  plead  for  are  not  set  down  in  ledgers.  How- 
hard  to  think  of  the  unselfish  and  the  ultimate,  instead  of 
the  personal  and  immediate !  Even  unto  Jesus  they  came 
and  inquired  "Who  is  first  in  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven?" 
It  is  not  strange  then  that  we  do  not  willingly  give  up 
personal  advantages  here.  But  in  the  Kingdom  of  Light, 
in  the  life  I  am  saying  we  ought  to  lead,  nothing  can  be 
taken  from  us  that  can  be  compared  with  what  we  shall 
receive.     It  is  quite  likely  we  may  be  poor,  though  I  am 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  LIGHT.  19 

afraid  we  shall  not  be,  for  in  the  twentieth  century  no 
man  is  safe  from  sudden  wealth ;  but  a  worse  calamity 
might  befall  us  than  poverty.     St.  Francis  of  Assisi,  as 
Renan  has  said,  was,  next  to  Jesus,  the  sweetest  soul  that 
ever  walked  this  earth,  and   he  condemned   himself  to 
hunger  and  rags.     I  do  not  advise  you  to  follow  him 
through  the  lonely  forest,  and  into  the  shaded  glen  where 
the  birds  used  to  welcome  him  to  be  their  friend  and  com- 
panion ;  but  I  do  most  assuredly  think  it  better  to  live  as 
he  did,  on  bread  and  water  and  the  cresses  that  grew  by 
the  mountain  spring,  than  to  give  up  the  glory  and  the 
joy  of  the  higher  life.     In  the  Kingdom  of  Light  there 
are  friendships  of  inestimable  value;  friendships  that  are 
rest  unto  the  body  and  solace  to  the  soul  that  is  troubled. 
When  Socrates  was  condemned,  how  promptly  and  how 
proudly  his  spirit  rose  to  meet  the  decree  of  the  judges, 
as  he  told  them  of  the  felicity  he  should  find  in  the  change 
that  would  give  him  the  opportunity  of  listening  to  the 
enchanting  converse  of  Orpheus  and  Musaeus  and  Hesiod 
and  Homer.     Such  companionship  is  ours,  through  the 
instrumentality   of   books.     Here,    even    in   this   western 
land,  the  worthies  of  every  age  will  come  to  our  firesides ; 
will  travel  with  us  on  the  distant  journey;  will  abide 
with  us  wherever  our  lot  may  be  cast.     And  the  smaller 
the  orbit  in  which  we  move,  the  more  contracted  the  scale 
of  our  personal  relations,  the  more  valuable  and  the  more 
needful  are  those  sweet  relationships  which  James  Mar- 
tineau  so  aptly  calls  "the  friendships  of  history."     In  a 
strain  of  unrivaled  elevation  of  thought  and  purity  of 
language,  he  says:    "He  that  cannot  leave  his  workshop 


20  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

or  his  village,  let  him  have  his  passport  to  other  cen- 
turies, and  find  communion  in  a  distant  age ;  it  will  enable 
him  to  look  up  into  those  silent  faces  that  cannot  deceive, 
and  take  the  hand  of  solemn  guidance  that  will  never  mis- 
lead or  betray.  The  ground-plot  of  a  man's  own  destiny- 
may  be  closely  shut  in,  and  the  cottage  of  his  rest  small ; 
but  if  the  story  of  this  Old  World  be  not  quite  strange  to 
him — if  he  can  find  his  way  through  its  vanished  cities 
to  hear  the  pleadings  of  justice  or  watch  the  worship  of 
the  gods ;  if  he  can  visit  the  battlefields  where  the  infant 
life  of  nations  has  been  baptized  in  blood;  if  he  can  steal 
into  the  prisons  where  the  lonely  martyrs  have  waited  for 
their  death ;  if  he  can  walk  in  the  garden  or  beneath  the 
porch  where  the  lovers  of  wisdom  discourse,  or  be  a  guest 
at  the  banquet  where  the  wine  of  high  converse  passes 
around;  if  the  experience  of  his  own  country  and  the 
struggles  that  consecrate  the  very  soil  beneath  his  feet 
are  no  secret  to  him,  if  he  can  listen  to  Latimer  at  Paul's 
Cross,  and  tend  the  wounded  Hampden  in  the  woods  at 
Chalgrove,  and  gaze,  as  upon  familiar  faces,  at  the  por- 
traits of  More  and  Bacon,  of  Vane  and  Cromwell,  of 
Owen,  Fox,  and  Baxter — he  consciously  belongs  to  a 
grander  life  than  could  be  given  by  territorial  possession ; 
he  venerates  an  ancestry  auguster  than  a  race  of  kings ; 
and  is  richer  in  the  sources  of  character  than  any  prince 
or  monarch." 

Some  there  are,  no  doubt,  who  believe  that  intellectual 
culture  does  not  make  men  better  or  happier,  and  that 
the  conscience  and  moral  faculties  are  set  apart  from 
merely  mental  attributes.     But  surely  you  have  not  ac- 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  LIGHT.  21 

cepted  such  a  false  and  narrow  view.  Unless  colleges 
are  a  foolish  and  expensive  luxury ;  unless  civilization  is 
worthless ;  unless  the  centuries  that  have  witnessed  the 
upward  stride  of  humanity  have  been  wasted ;  unless  the 
savage,  chattering  incantations  to  his  fetich,  is  a  nobler 
product  of  the  race  than  a  Milton,  a  Wilberforce,  an 
Emerson,  or  a  Lowell,  then  heart  and  mind,  morality  and 
education  do  go  together  in  true  and  loyal  companion- 
ship. The  trouble  of  to-day,  as  I  have  tried  to  show,  is 
not  that  we  have  too  much  culture,  but  too  much  bending 
of  the  knee  to  purely  material  results ;  too  much  worship 
of  the  big  and  not  enough  of  the  great. 

It  is  the  fate  of  most  of  us  to  work  either  with  hand 
or  brain ;  but  even  in  this  short  life  a  successfully  con- 
ducted bank,  or  a  bridge  that  you  have  built,  or  a  lawsuit 
you  have  won,  have  in  themselves  little  of  special  signifi- 
cance or  value.  Very  common  men  have  done  all  these 
things.  When  I  hear  the  glorification  of  the  last  twenty 
years,  of  the  fields  subdued,  the  roads  built,  the  fortunes 
accumulated,  the  factories  started,  I  say  to  myself,  all 
these  are  good,  but  not  good  enough  that  we  should  make 
ourselves  hoarse  with  huzzas,  or  that  we  should  suppose 
for  a  moment  they  belong  to  the  higher  order  of  achieve- 
ments. Sometimes,  too,  when  I  hear  the  noisy  clamor 
over  some  great  difficulty  that  has  been  conquered,  I 
think  of  James  Wolfe  under  the  walls  of  Quebec,  repeat- 
ing sadly  those  solemn  lines  of  Gray's  Elegy: 

"The  boast  of  heraldry,  the  pomp  of  pow'r, 
And  all  that  beauty,  all  that  wealth  e'er  gave, 

Await  alike  th'  inevitable  hour ; 

The  paths  of  glory  lead  but  to  the  grave." 


22  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

And  I  think  also  how  he  turned  to  his  officers  with 
that  pathetic  prevision  of  the  death  that  was  to  come  to- 
morrow on  the  Heights  of  Abraham,  and  said,  "I  would 
rather  have  written  that  poem  than  to  take  Quebec." 
And  he  was  right. 

Indeed  if  we  but  knew  it,  the  citadel  that  crowns  the 
mountain's  brow,  nay,  the  mountains  themselves,  ancient, 
rugged,  motionless,  are  but  toys  compared  with  the  silent, 
invisible,  but  eternal  structure  of  God's  greatest  handi- 
work, the  mind. 

I  pray  you  remember  there  is,  if  we  but  search  for  it, 
something  ennobling  in  every  vocation ;  in  every  enter- 
prise which  engages  the  efforts  of  man.  Do  you  think 
Michael  Angelo  reared  the  dome,  and  painted  those  im- 
mortal frescoes,  simply  because  he  had  a  contract  to  do 
so?  Was  the  soldier  who  died  at  Marathon  or  Gettys- 
burg thinking  of  the  wages  the  state  had  promised  him? 
Be  assured,  that  whatever  fate  is  to  befall  us,  nothing  so 
bad  can  come  as  to  sink  into  that  wretched  existence 
where  everything  is  forgotten  but  the  profit  of  the  hour; 
the  food,  the  raiment,  the  handful  of  silver,  the  ribbon  to 
wear  on  the  coat.  It  is  but  an  old  story  I  am  telling ;  but 
I  console  myself  with  the  reflection  that  it  cannot  be  told 
too  often,  and  only  by  telling  is  it  kept  fresh  in  the  mem- 
ory and  in  the  heart.  The  world  will  go  on  buying  and 
jelling,  hoping  and  fearing,  loving  and  hating,  and  we 
shall  be  in  the  throng;  but  in  God's  name  let  us  not  turn 
away  from  the  light,  nor  from  the  kingdom  that  is  in  the 
midst  of  the  light. 


THE.  KINGDOM  OF  LIGHT.  23 

In  every  street  shadows  are  walking  who  were  once 
brave,  hopeful  and  confident.  Nay !  they  are  not  shadows ; 
but  ghosts,  dead,  years  ago,  in  everything  but  the  mere 
phvsical  portion  of  existence.  They  go  through  the  regu- 
lar operations  of  trade  and  traffic,  the  office,  and  the  court ; 
but  they  are  not  living  men.  They  are  but  bones  and 
skeletons  rattling  along  in  a  melancholy  routine,  which 
has  in  it  neither  life,  nor  the  spirit  of  life.  It  is  a  sad 
picture,  but  saddest  because  it  is  true.  They  knew  what 
happy  days  were,  when  they  walked  in  pleasant  paths  and 
felt  in  their  hearts  the  freshness  of  the  spring.  But  con- 
tact with  the  world  was  too  much  for  them.  Hesitation 
and  doubt  drove  out  loyalty  and  faith.  They  listened  to 
the  voice  of  wordly  wisdom  as  Othello  listened  to  Iago, 
and  the  end  of  the  story  is : 

"Put  out  the  light,  and  then— put  out  the  light." 

The  dwellers  in  the  Kingdom  of  which  I  am  speaking 
are  hostages  to  art  and  letters ;  to  high  aims  and  noble 
destinies.  They  may  forget,  they  may  be  false,  but  if 
some  are  not  faithful,  truth  and  liberty  and  the  best  of 
civilization  will  be  lost,  or  in  danger  of  being  lost.  In 
every  ship  that  sails  there  must  be  some  to  stay  by  the 
craft ;  some  to  speak  the  word  of  cheer ;  some  to  soothe 
the  fears  of  the  timorous  and  affrighted.  When  Paul 
was  journeying  to  Italy  on  that  memorable  voyage  which 
changed  the  destinies  of  the  world,  the  mariners  were 
frightened  as  the  storm  came  on,  and  were  casting  the 
boats  over  to  seek  safety  they  knew  not  whither;  but 
Paul  said  to  the  centurion  and  to  the  soldiers,  "Except 
these  abide  in  the  ship  ye  cannot  be  saved." 


24  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

It  is  because  I  believe  so  strongly  in  the  saving  power 
of  the  intellectual  life  upon  the  institutions  of  society,  and 
upon  the  welfare  of  individuals,  that  I  plead  so  earnestly 
for  it.  The  fortunes  of  science,  art,  literature  and  gov- 
ernment are  indissolubly  linked  with  it.  The  centers 
and  shrines  of  the  most  potent  influences  are  not  the  seats 
of  commerce  and  capital.  The  village  of  Concord,  where 
Emerson,  Hawthorne,  Alcott,  and  Thoreau  lived,  was  in 
their  day,  and  will  long  continue  to  be,  a  greater  force  in 
this  nation  than  New  York  and  Chicago  added  to  each 
other.  We  may  rest  in  the  assured  faith  that  whoever 
may  seem  to  rule,  the  thinker  is,  and  always  will  be,  the 
master. 

Those  of  you  who  have  read  Auerbach's  great  novel 
remember  the  motto  from  Goethe  on  the  title  page: 
"On  every  height  there  lies  repose." 

Rest !  how  eagerly  we  seek  it !  How  sweet  it  is  when 
we  are  tired  of  the  fret  and  worry  of  life !  But,  remem- 
ber, I  pray  you,  that  it  dwells  above  the  level,  in  the  serene 
element  that  reaches  to  the  infinities.  Only  there  is 
heard  the  music  of  the  choir  invisible;  only  there  can  we 
truly  know  the  rest,  the  peace  and  the  joy  of  those  who 
dwell  in  the  Kingdom  of  Light. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


By  Judge  Joseph   V.  Quarles. 

According-  to  prevailing  custom,  the  birthday  of 
Abraham  Lincoln  is  chosen  for  memorial  observance. 
This  day,  so  full  of  promise  to  the  world,  aroused  no 
suspicion  at  the  time  that  it  would  be  memorable  in  the 
world's  annals.  The  birthplace  was  a  lonesome  clearing 
in  Kentucky,  which  made  no  pretensions  beyond  the  tra- 
ditional "four  corners  and  a  blacksmith  shop."  There 
were  no  happy  auguries,  no  Bethlehem  star;  no  wise 
men  from  the  East.  Indeed,  it  is  doubtful  whether  any- 
thin  c"  more  than  a  scant  welcome  awaited  the  child  who 
was  destined  to  fill  the  world  with  his  renown.  The  sun 
looked  down  through  the  wintry  clouds  and  revealed  a 
wretched  cabin  that  was  doing  its  best  to  shelter  the 
family  of  a  luckless  frontiersman  who  could  make  noth- 
ing out  of  life  but  a  struggle  for  existence.  This  was 
the  environment  into  which  young  Abraham  was  born. 

After  a  few  years  this  pioneer  family,  like  Virgil's 
hero,  "impelled  by  fate,"  literally  drifted  away  on  a  raft 
of  logs  and  found  a  new  home  in  the  trackless  woods  of 
Indiana,  where  there  was  nothing  in  store  for  the  young 
boy  but  a  cheerless  childhood. 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  twenty  years  old  before  he  emerged 
from  the  forest  that  had  shut  him  in  like  a  prison.  He 
came   forth   as   the   pilot   of  a   "prairie   schooner."     His 


26  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

badge  of  office  was  an  ox-goad  with  which  he  belabored 
two  yoke  of  cattle.  By  these  means  he  was  moving  that 
migratory  family,  with  all  their  worldly  goods,  to  a  new 
home  in  a  new  wilderness. 

A  giant  in  stature,  he  was  as  awkward  as  he  was 
strong.  His  rustic  appearance  was  enhanced  by  an  ill- 
fitting  suit  of  homespun.  Thus  at  the  head  of  his  ox-team 
he  made  his  debut  in  the  outer  world,  without  means, 
without  education,  without  influence.  This  may  seem  a 
sorry  beginning,  but  let  it  be  remembered  that  if  on  that 
day  he  had  graduated  from  Harvard  in  a  full  dress  suit 
the  gates  of  history  would  probably  have  been  closed 
against  him. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  first  business  venture  resulted  in  down- 
right failure.  He  formed  a  partnership  with  one  Berry, 
under  the  firm  name  of  Berry  &  Lincoln,  to  carry  on  a 
grocery,  for  the  purchase  price  of  which  the  firm  note 
was  given.  Berry  was  a  jolly,  irresponsible  soul,  who 
was  born  thirsty,  and  who  gave  his  undivided  attention 
to  that  part  of  the  stock  known  as  "wet  groceries."  Mr. 
Lincoln,  on  the  other  hand,  having  a  keen  appetite, 
devoted  himself  to  the  crackers  and  cheese,  smoked  her- 
ring and  other  edibles  at  the  dry  end  of  the  shop.  This 
happy  adjustment  rivalled  the  familiar  case  of  Jack 
Sprat  and  his  congenial  spouse ;  hut  the  meagre  stock 
could  not  long  withstand  the  inroads  of  hunger  at  the 
one  end,  thirst  at  the  other,  and  a  crisis  came  which 
required  the  sale  of  the  remnant  stock.  The  purchaser 
defaulted,  and  Mr.  Lincoln  was  left  to  pay  all  the  liabili- 
ties— a    task    which    plagued    him    for    several    years. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  27 

Thereby  he  had  impressed  upon  him  a  legal  proposition 
that  a  partner  is  liable  in  solido. 

It  is  related  that  Mr.  Lincoln  bought  a  barrel  of  a 
customer  in  the  bottom  of  which,  among  other  rubbish, 
was  found  a  copy  of  Blackstone's  Commentaries,  This 
was  a  great  find  for  the  law  student,  but  as  the  books 
thereafter  engrossed  his  attention,  the  grocery  business 
collapsed.     Thus  ended  the  first  lesson. 

Mr.  Lincoln  also  learned  by  numerous  sad  experiences 
that  personal  appearance  has  much  to  do  with  a  young 
man's  success  in  the  first  stages  of  his  career.  He  was 
six  feet  four  inches  in  height.  His  legs  and  arms  seemed 
all  too  long.  His  ill-fitting  clothes  hung  loosely  on  his 
lean,  lank  figure,  and  seemed  to  exaggerate  his  physical 
peculiarities.  Being  naturally  diffident,  he  was  painfully 
conscious  of  his  grotesque  appearance.  This  was  another 
heavy  handicap  that  fate  imposed  upon  him. 

The  scene  shifts,  and  this  tall,  awkward  man  is  "riding 
the  circuit"  as  a  country  lawyer  across  the  sparsely  settled 
prairies  of  Illinois.  By  his  infinite  good  humor,  droll 
stories  and  strong  common  sense,  he  became  popular 
among  the  pioneers.  If  he  lacked  the  training  of  the 
schools,  he  had  at  least  escaped  the  vice  of  pedantry  that 
too  often  afflicts  educated  men. 

He  was  intensely  human.  He  wore  the  hall-mark  of 
sorrow  on  his  face,  but  was  keenly  alive  to  human  follies 
and  frailties  which  furnished  pith  for  his  inimitable 
stories.  He  could  cordially  endorse  the  maxim  of  the 
old  Roman,  "Homo  sum  ct  nihil  humanum  alicnum  est 
mi  hi." 


28  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

This  broad  sympathy  with  the  brotherhood  of  man 
illumined  his  whole  career  and  made  him  the  idol  of 
"the  plain  people." 

He  was  sent  to  the  Legislature.  Later  on,  he  served 
one  term  in  the  lower  house  of  Congress ;  hut  nothing 
worthy  of  note  was  achieved.  By  patient  plodding  he 
gained  a  respectable  position  at  the  bar,  which  was  a 
marvelous  achievement  in  view  of  his  lack  of  early  train- 
ing. But  it  was  not  as  a  lawyer  that  he  was  destined  to 
shine  as  a  star  of  the  first  magnitude.  His  career  besfan 
when  a  masterful  purpose  took  possession  of  his  soul  and 
set  his  genius  aflame.  He  may  be  said  to  have  been 
born  again  under  happier  auspices,  and  to  have  been 
christened  as  a  child  of  the  nation. 

Mr.  Lincoln  had  well  settled  convictions  regarding 
slavery.  As  early  as  1838  he  went  on  record  in  the 
Legislature  as  unalterably  opposed  to  the  institution,  but 
still  conceded  that  by  virtue  of  the  Constitution  it  had 
certain  rights  which  all  law-abiding  citizens  were  bound 
to  respect.  At  the  same  time,  he  condemned  the  inflam- 
matory methods  of  the  abolitionists.  For  more  than 
twenty  years  he  meditated  deeply  on  this  subject,  and 
often  expressed  his  views  in  public.  Among  his  writ- 
ings are  preserved  many  so-called  "fragments  of  the 
slavery  question"  wherein  he  was  studiously  framing  his 
arguments,  even  as  the  gladiator  sharpens  his  weapons 
for  an  approaching  combat. 

Mr.  Douglas,  then  in  the  acme  of  his  career,  was 
seeking  a  re-election  to  the  Senate.  He  had  taken  the 
stump  to  advocate  "squatter  sovereignty"  as  a  panacea 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  29 

for  the  impending-  troubles  and  as  a  substitute  for  the 
Missouri  compromise.  It  was  a  sorry  makeshift — sug- 
gesting Mrs.  Partington's  mop — but  in  the  hands  of  this 
brilliant  statesman  it  was  calculated  to  confuse,  if  not  to 
captivate  the  people,  and  in  some  measure  to  atone  for  his 
having  been  particeps  cri minis  to  the  repeal  of  the  great 
compromise.  It  was  a  period  of  intense  excitement. 
The  Dred  Scott  decision,  followed  by  the  repeal  of  the 
Missouri  compromise,  had  shocked  the  people  of  the 
North.  The  underground  railway  was  in  active  opera- 
tion, ever  increasing  its  facilities  and  the  number  of  its 
dusky  passengers.  It  operated  as  a  powerful  irritant 
and  a  constant  appeal  to  the  sympathy  of  free  men.  The 
Southern  people,  stung  by  the  loss  of  their  errant  prop- 
erty and  by  the  gibes  of  the  Northern  press,  were  threat- 
ening to  disrupt  the  union  if  necessary  to<  save  "the  divine 
institution."  The  abolitionists,  growing  more  numerous 
and  more  bold,  inflamed  both  sides  by  denouncing  slavery 
as  "the  sum  of  all  villanies,"  urging  open  resistance  to 
the  fugitive  slave  law  and  the  Dred  Scott  decision. 

It  was  plain  that  the  irrepressible  conflict  was  on. 
The  air  vibrated  with  excitement  as  with  heat-waves. 
The  dullest  man  could  scent  the  danger,  but  the  wisest 
was  unable  to  suggest  an  avenue  of  escape. 

The  people  were  eager  for  instruction,  and  a  great 
clamor  arose  that  somebody  should  meet  Mr.  Douglas 
on  the  hustings  who  could  puncture  his  sophistries, 
simplify  the  pending  questions  and  adapt  them  to  the 
comprehension  of  the  common  mind.  A  mighty  political 
convulsion  was  imminent,  out  of  which  should  spring  the 


30  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

Republican  party.  Some  one  was  needed  who  could 
prepare  the  way  after  the  manner  of  John  the  Baptist. 

No  one  appointed  Mr.  Lincoln  to  this  task,  but  the 
popular  demand  for  him  was  as  imperative  as  a  bugle- 
call.  This  was  the  opportunity  for  which  he  had  been 
waiting  and  preparing  all  these  years. 

King  David  emerged  from  obscurity  when  he  chal- 
lenged a  giant  to  single  combat.  In  much  the  same  way 
Mr.  Lincoln  leaped  into  prominence.  It  is  true  that  Mr. 
Douglas  was  called  the  "Little  Giant,"  but  as  a  debater 
he  was  without  doubt  the-  Goliath  of  his  day. 

The  debates  that  followed  constituted  the  greatest 
intellectual  duel  since  Webster  crossed  swords  with 
Hayne  in  the  Senate.  Enthusiastic  audiences  greeted  the 
distinguished  speakers  at  every  meeting.  People  made 
long  pilgrimages  to  be  present.  Mr.  Lincoln  did  for  his 
day  and  generation  what  Mr.  Webster  did  in  the  earlier 
debate.  It  was  a  second  exposition  of  the  Constitution, 
calling  for  even  greater  skill  because  of  the  differences 
in  situation.  Webster  addressed  a  group  of  statesmen 
in  the  historic  Senate  chamber.  Lincoln  had  to  adapt  his 
arguments  to  promiscuous  audiences  of  pioneers  assem- 
bled in  the  open  air.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  in  no  mood  to 
descend  to  the  blandishments  of  speech.  He  employed 
simple  phrase  and  homely  illustration,  but  with  unerring 
logic  he  drove  home  the  fundamental  truths  that  were 
afterwards  welded  into  axioms  under  the  fierce  heat  of 
battle  and  were  finally  incorporated  into  the  three  great 
constitutional  amendments. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  31 

Mr.  Lincoln's  speeches  were  extensively  published 
and  circulated,  and  furnished  the  only  logical  basis  for 
his  candidacy  at  Chicago.  His  phenomenal  success  in 
the  convention  may  be  largely  attributed  to  a  coterie  of 
devoted  friends  who  were  astute  politicians  and  able 
advocates.  His  campaign  was  managed  with  consum- 
mate skill.  Throughout  the  East  he  was  practically  an 
unknown  man.  His  nomination  was  a  tremendous  sur- 
prise to  the  country  at  large,  and  in  some  quarters  a 
bitter  disappointment.  Mr.  Seward  was  the  idol  of  his 
party,  a  ripe  scholar,  an  eminent  lawyer,  an  experienced 
statesman  and  diplomat.  The  rejection  by  the  convention 
of  such  a  man  at  such  a  time  for  an  awkward,  uneducated 
"rail  splitter"  from  the  wild  and  woolly  West  seemed  to 
shake  public  confidence  in  popular  government. 

When  Mr.  Spencer  wrote  that  a  man  is  but  the  reflec- 
tion of  his  environment,  he  laid  down  a  general  rule 
which  admits  of  few  exceptions ;  but  some  great  souls 
break  through  human  limitations  and  create  an  environ- 
ment for  themselves.  At  long  intervals  the  world  is 
startled  by  some  man  who  rises  above  the  dead  level  of 
the  commonplace,  like  a  pyramid  in  a  sandy  plain.  The 
idea  that  all  men  are  created  equal  is  a  fallacy.  Men  are 
as  different  and  distant  from  each  other  as  the  planets. 

Homer  and  Shakespeare  furnish  instances  of  abnor- 
mal achievement  that  puzzle  the  world.  The  genius  of 
Homer  has  defied  the  Wolfian  hypothesis.  Shakespeare's 
fame  has  withstood  the  assaults  of  the  Baconian  theory. 
Neither  can  be  discredited,  nor  yet  understood.  It  is 
by  means  of  these  bright  lights  that  gleam  from  inac- 


32  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

cessibic  heights,  that  the  centuries  salute  each  other 
across  the  wastes  of  time,  where  the  countless  millions 
of  mankind  lie  shrouded  in  the  dreamless  dust. 

Critical  study  of  the  life  of  Abraham  Lincoln  in  the 
calm  spirit  of  history  will  strengthen  the  conviction  that 
his  career  can  never  be  accounted  for  along  the  lines  of 
human  experience.  He  stands  out  as  a  solitary  figure, 
without  ancestry — a  prodigy  whose  genius  could  neither 
be  traced  nor  transmitted. 

A  mountain  is  a  mystery.  Such  was  Abraham 
Lincoln.  It  is  tall,  rugged,  isolated.  So  was  he.  It  has 
seams  and  crevices  that  would  disfigure  the  beauty  of  a 
hill,  but  constitute  no  blemish  on  such  massive  sublimity. 
Among  its  rugged  crags  are  sheltered  spots  of  rare 
beauty,  where  the  sunshine  loves  to  linger,  where  flowers 
bloom  and  cooling  streams  sparkle,  where  the  rich  color- 
ing of  nature  delights  the  eye.  But  there  are  great 
patches  of  denuded  rock  which  tell  of  the  harsh  attrition 
of  the  early  glacier.  The  mists  that  veil  its  summit  lend 
it  an  air  of  mystery  and  melancholy.  Great  storms  beat 
up  against  it  with  tremendous  fury.  The  lightning  with 
its  vivid  flash,  and  the  quick  responses  of  the  deep-toned 
thunder,  reveal  the  awful  struggles  waged  around  its 
lofty  peak.  The  soothing  influence  of  its  cold  face  con- 
verts the  angry  clouds  into  gentle  showers  that  it  sends 
down  to  bless  and  beautify  the  fields  below.  Through 
storm  and  tempest  it  remains  unmoved,  as  its  sacred  mis- 
sion remains  unchanged.  The  same  God  that  made  the 
mountain  made  the  man.  The  Good  Book  says,  "He 
doeth  great  things  past  finding  out." 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  33 

We  are  told  that  obstacles  overcome  furnish  the  true 
test  of  greatness.  Judged  by  this  standard,  Abraham 
Lincoln  was,  by  all  means,  the  greatest  man  of  his  age. 
Keeping  in  mind  his  woeful  lack  of  early  advantages, 
the  repeated  failures,  sorrows  and  disappointments  of  his 
early  manhood,  let  us  now  recall  the  dangers  and  diffi- 
culties that  beset  him  as  he  awaited  his  inauguration. 
Personally  he  suffered  great  disparagement.  No  man  in 
modern  times  was  ever  so  cordially  hated  or  so  little 
loved.  He  was  an  obscure  man,  comparatively  unknown, 
content  to  remain  in  seclusion  until  the  time  was  ripe. 
Mr.  Lincoln  preserved  a  dignified  silence  from  the  mo- 
ment of  his  nomination.  During  this  period  his  enemies 
had  not  been  idle.  His  ungainly  personal  appearance 
furnished  occasion  for  cruel  caricature.  He  was  ad- 
vertised sometimes  as  a  clown,  sometimes  as  a  gorilla, 
sometimes  as  a  fanatic.  He  became  the  bete-noire  of 
the  Southern  people,  and  had  barely  escaped  assassina- 
tion in  Baltimore.  The  abolitionists  repudiated  him  be- 
cause he  dared  to  love  the  Constitution  while  professing 
to  hate  slavery.  His  own  party  friends  were  tortured 
by  the  awful  fear  lest  the  "Rail-Splitter,"  so  serviceable 
as  a  candidate,  might  not  prove  equal  to  the  require- 
ments of  leadership  in  such  a  crisis.  Excitement  was 
running  high.  The  Democratic  press,  with  boisterous 
solicitude  for  the  Constitution,  joined  in  the  deafening 
cry  against  coercion  as  though  it  were  a  more  deadly 
danger  than  secession.  Civil  war  was  imminent.  The 
Confederacy,  equipped  with  civil  and  military  establish- 
ments, was  an  accomplished  fact.     The  national  treasury 


34  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

was  bankrupt.  There  was  nothing  in  it  but  an  echo. 
The  little  remnant  of  army  and  navy  was  scattered  to  the 
four  winds.  Our  forts  and  arsenals  had  been  seized  or 
plundered.  Treason,  unrebuked  and  unrepentant,  held 
high  carnival  at  Washington.  The  retiring  chief  magis- 
trate proved  an  impotent  commander  and  the  sword  fell 
from  his  nerveless  hand.  His  feeble  protests  betraved 
his  imbecility  and  furnished  strong  confirmation  of  the 
prevalent  idea  that  Northern  men  were  all  cowards  and 
compromisers.  Somebody  has  sententiously  remarked 
that  Mr.  Buchanan  in  the  White  House  was  the  bread- 
and-milk  poultice  to  bring  rebellion  to  a  head.  What 
was  still  more  discouraging,  public  sentiment  at  the 
North  was  bewildered.  Something  like  paralysis  had 
laid  hold  upon  it.  Indignation  struggled  with  fear  and 
everywhere  doubt  held  the  mastery.  This  was  largely 
because  the  boisterous  threats  and  warlike  preparations 
of  the  Southern  States  were  not  taken  seriously.  Seces- 
sion was  regarded  as  nothing  more  than  a  desperate 
bluff.  Even  the  firing  on  the  "Star  of  the  West"  in 
Charleston  Harbor  was,  in  those  days  of  peace,  looked 
upon  as  a  bit  of  bravado  rather  than  an  act  of  war. 

The  situation  in  the  Border  States  was  alarming-.  The 
fate  of  the  nation  was  thought  to  hinge  upon  their  de- 
cision whether  to  stand  by  the  Union,  or  to  cast  in  their 
lot  with  the  Confederacy. 

These  were  the  grave  and  dismal  circumstances  un- 
der which  the  newly  elected  president  appeared  at  the 
east  door  of  the  capitol  on  the  fourth  day  of  March. 
Detectives   were  scattered  through   the  great  concourse 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  35 

to  keep  the  peace.     Riflemen  were  posted  at  convenient 
places.     Artillery  frowned  from  the  adjacent  elevations. 
Such   precaution   was   deemed   necessary   to  ensure   the 
safety  of  the  distinguished  speaker.     It  was  a  dark  day 
for  loyal  men,  who  had  every  reason  to  fear  an  immedi- 
ate outbreak,  and  who  seemed  to  have  little  recourse  but 
their  trust  in  God.     In  that  bedlam  of  passion  and  frenzy 
of  excitement  there  was  one  man  who  stood  calm  and 
resolute.     He  regarded  himself  as  a  chosen  instrument 
in  the  hands  of  Almighty  God  to  save  the  Union.     What 
a  theme  he  had,  and  what  inspiration  filled  his  soul !    He 
spoke  as  never  man  spoke  before.     It  is  doubtful  if  in 
all  political  history  a  discourse  ever  produced  an  effect 
so  profound  and  so  magical.     His  address  was  in  every 
sense  a  masterpiece.     Its  argument  was  strong  and  com- 
prehensive.    Its  logic  was  unanswerable.     Its  keen  anal- 
ysis  unmasked  the   fallacy   of  secession.     At   the  same 
time,  its  temper  was  so  kindly,  even  affectionate,  that  it 
seemed  more  like  a  winsome  plea.     The  delicate  skill  dis- 
played in  its  adaptation  to  the  several  sections  of  the 
Union,  was  masterly.     It  roused  the  patriotism  of  the 
North  without  alienating  the  loyalty  of  the  Border  States. 
It   accorded   to   slavery   everything  that   slavery  had   a 
right  to  demand  under  the  Constitution.     It  was  as  gen- 
erous as  it  was  just.     It  brought  the  fire-eater  face  to 
face  with  the  proposition  that  the  Union  was  unassailable 
except   by   open   and   wicked    rebellion.     Southern   men 
who  had  been  led  to  expect  a  boorish  tirade  were  dis- 
mayed by  the  powerful  and  pacific  appeal,  while  Union 
men  everywhere  with  one  accord  rejoiced  that  God  had 


36  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

raised  up  for  them  a  leader  fully  equal  to  the  great  emer- 
gency. Strong  men  wept  with  joy  when  this  inaugural 
broke  the  painful  silence.  In  it  they  recognized  sentiments 
that  they  had  felt  but  were  not  able  to  express.  They 
hailed  this  message  as  the  gospel  of  the  Union  and  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  as  its  savior.  At  one  bound  this  country 
lawyer,  without  education  or  special  training,  stood  forth 
the  best  equipped  man  of  his  generation  to  assume  a  bur- 
den which  can  only  be  likened  to  that  which  mythology 
laid  upon  the  bending  shoulders  of  Atlas.  With  his  face 
toward  the  approaching  storm  he  stood  undaunted,  self- 
poised,  like  a  divinely  appointed  leader.  To  employ  his 
own  language,  "Without  a  name,  without  a  reason  why  I 
should  have  a  name,  there  has  fallen  upon  me  a  task 
such  as  did  not  rest  even  upon  the  'Father  of  his  Coun- 
try.' ,:  He  became  at  once  master  of  the  situation.  He 
was  startled,  at  first  blush,  to  realize  his  superiority  in 
leadership  to  the  able  men  who  surrounded  him,  some  of 
whom  he  had  been  taught  to  regard  as  demigods.  He 
looked  upon  his  sacred  trust,  however,  as  essentially  per- 
sonal, not  to  be  delegated  or  even  subdivided,  as  Mr. 
Seward  was  delicately  yet  firmly  admonished  in  the  early 
days  of  the  administration.  It  must  be  remembered,  too, 
that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  by  nature  shy  and  diffident,  but  the 
decree  of  destiny  seemed  to  change  the  whole  current  of 
his  life.  There  was  no  longer  any  trace  of  provincialism 
nor  of  that  deference  that  the  rustic  instinctively  pays  to 
the  man  of  culture  and  breeding.  He  rose  to  the  dignity 
of  the  superior  power  by  which  he  was  for  the  time  being 
possessed.     Nothing  short  of  a  great   inspiration   could 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  37 

have  so  developed  his  intellectual  resources,  and  he  soon 
came  to  be  justly  recognized  as  a  greater  politician  than 
Thurlow  Weed,  a  more  skilful  diplomat  than  Seward, 
and  a  greater  orator  than  Everett.  His  Gettysburg 
speech  is  a  masterpiece  of  eloquence  and  pathos,  and  is 
cherished  as  a  sacred  American  classic,  while  it  passed 
out  of  common  recollection  that  Edward  Everett  spoke 
on  the  same  occasion.  Before  the  war  closed,  Mr.  Lin- 
coln became  a  strategist  of  acknowledged  ability.  He  had 
wisdom  without  learning.  Power  never  excited  in  his 
mind  a  flush  of  exultation,  but  rather  deepened  the 
shadow  on  his  melancholy  face. 

He  had  one  element  of  strength  which  was  so  rare 
as  almost  to  differentiate  him  from  other  men.  Many 
men,  perhaps  the  majority,  are  honest  as  the  world  goes ; 
but  yet  how  few  are  exactly  fair.  Personal  tastes,  in- 
terests and  temperament  almost  necessarily  warp  the 
judgment.  Abraham  Lincoln  could  be  absolutely  fair, 
because  when  he  approached  a  public  question,  his  own 
personality  seemed  to  sink  out  of  sight,  as  though  he 
had  said  with  divine  sanction,  "Get  thee  behind  me,  self." 
Neither  pride  of  opinion  nor  personal  prejudice  seemed 
to  invade  the  calm  serenity  of  his  official  judgment.  There 
no  storms  ever  raged,  no  mist  ever  gathered. 

Notwithstanding  the  abuse  and  vituperation  that  were 
heaped  upon  him,  you  will  look  in  vain  for  a  sign  of  re- 
sentment. Gen.  McClellan  suffered  nothing  by  reason 
of  his  outrageous  insolence  toward  the  Commander-in- 
Chief,  because  there  were  interests  at  stake  that  were 
vastly  more  important  than  military  etiquette.     Mr.  Lin- 


<    l  A  K  C  K 

jl  3  -±  0  o  a 


38  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

coin  never  hesitated  to  overlook  a  personal  affront.  There 
was  one  other  man  who  suffered  yet  greater  humiliation 
and  who  interceded  for  his  revilers :  "Father,  forgive 
them,  for  they  know  not  what  they  do!"  but  that  man 
was  fortified  by  divine  grace.  Lincoln  approached  nearer 
to  the  divine  ideal  than  any  other  mortal  burdened  with 
like  responsibilities. 

Abraham  Lincoln  hated  slavery  with  all  the  intensity 
of  his  nature;  but  that  sentiment  never  prejudiced  the 
President  in  according  its  legal  rights  under  existing  law. 
Nor  did  it  inspire  any  official  ill-will  toward  the  slave- 
holder. Mr.  Lincoln  was  anxious  to  make  compensation 
for  slaves  while  such  course  was  likely  to  strengthen  the 
Union  cause,  and  he  committed  Congress  to  this  broad 
policy.  When  the  time  for  emancipation  was  ripe,  he 
placed  his  immortal  proclamation  solely  on  the  ground 
of  military  necessity.  As  hateful  to  him  as  was  the 
heresy  of  secession,  it  begot  no  personal  animosity  to- 
ward Southern  men.  He  could  appeal  to  them  as  broth- 
ers while  they  were  denouncing  him  as  a  tyrant  or  a 
monster. 

No  matter  how  worn  with  the  cares  of  his  great  office, 
the  President  was  always  ready  to  give  patient  hearing 
to  the  poor  mother  who  was  pleading  for  her  son's  life. 
Whatever  of  weakness  inhered  in  his  administration  de- 
veloped on  the  side  of  sympathy,  for  among  the  mysteri- 
ous splendors  of  this  man  were  the  energy  of  a  giant 
and  the  tenderness  of  a  woman.  Phillips  Brooks  once 
said,  "In  Lincoln  was  vindicated  the  greatness  of  real 
goodness  and  the  goodness  of  real  greatness." 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  39 

Before  the  imperial  tribunal  of  his  judgment  an 
avowed  enemy  might  be  sure  of  exact  justice,  nothing 
less,  while  the  obsequious  friend  could  reckon  on  nothing 
more. 

As  an  orator  he  belonged  to  no  school.  As  a  states- 
man he  had  no  model.  He  towered  above  all  predeces- 
sors in  the  blue  ether  of  his  own  originality.  His  style 
had  the  simplicity  of  Bunyan,  the  rugged  strength  of 
Lord  Brougham,  and  a  pathos  all  his  own.  In  his  hands 
anecdote  was  as  persuasive  as  argument  and  droll  wit 
was  as  keen  as  a  Damascus  blade. 

Mr.  Seward,  who  was  a  ripe  scholar  and  a  master  of 
diction,  suggested  a  fine  poetic  sentiment  to  adorn  the 
peroration  of  the  first  inaugural.  Mr.  Lincoln  adopted 
it,  but  was  able  to  add  immeasurably  to 'its  beauty  and 
polish,  although  he  had  never  studied  rhetoric  in  his  life. 
During  all  the  momentous  events  of  his  administration 
he  was  like  a  great  presiding  genius,  with  infinite  pa- 
tience brooding  over  all  the  various  departments  of  gov- 
ernment and  over  every  battlefield  and  council  chamber, 
directing  all  measures,  adjusting  all  disputes,  reconciling 
clashing  ambitions,  never  for  a  moment  losing  his  tem- 
per or  relaxing  his  grasp.  He  was  the  dominating  spirit 
of  that  heroic  period. 

Finally  the  fond  hopes  of  the  War  President  were 
realized.  The  Union  was  safe.  Its  arch  enemies, 
slavery  and  secession,  were  dead.  Four  million  dusky 
beings  raised  their  unfettered  arms  toward  heaven  and 
invoked  a  blessing  on  "Marse  Linkum."  In  every  North- 
ern home  his  name  was  cherished  as  a  household  word. 


40  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

The  bronzed  veterans  who  came  and  fought  like  demons 
at  his  call  had  returned  to  their  homes  at  his  command, 
bearing  the  sacred  emblems  of  peace  and  victory.  Tri- 
umph brought  him  joy  but  no  exultation.  His  kind  heart 
was  already  brimming  over  with  tender  sympathy  for 
the  Southern  people  who  were  sitting  disconsolate  among 
the  ashes  of  their  homes  and  hopes. 

Buffeted,  worn  and  weary,  the  time  had  come  at  last 
when  he  might  hope  for  rest  and  relaxation.  His  mis- 
sion was  accomplished.  Already  the  sunshine  was 
streaming  through  the  dark  clouds.  How  sweet  to  him 
was  the  prospect  of  serenity  and  peace ! 

This  climacteric  moment,  however,  proved  the  oppor- 
tunity for  the  cruel  assassin.  No  single  bullet  ever 
wounded  so  many  hearts.  So  tolerant,  so  gentle,  so  un- 
selfish, how  could  he  inspire  murder  in  any  human 
breast?  This  tragic  decree  of  fate  must  ever  remain 
shrouded  in  the  same  sad  mystery  that  envelops  the  cross 
around  which  all  Christendom  kneels. 

What  a  sad  pity  it  seems  that  his  majestic  spirit,  pure 
as  the  light  of  the  stars,  "with  malice  toward  none  but 
with  charity  for  all,"  was  not  permitted  to  preside  over 
the  stormy  period  of  reconstruction — the  aftermath  of 
the  great  war. 

Perhaps  the  prediction  of  the  first  inaugural  might 
even  then  have  been  realized.  Perhaps  under  his  power- 
ful enchantment  the  better  angels  of  our  natures  might 
even  then  have  touched  "the  mystic  chords  that  reach 
from  every  battlefield  to  every  hearthstone  in  this  broad 
land/'  and  the  divine  chorus  of  the  Union  might  have 


ABRAHAM  LIXCOLN.  41 

softened  the  hearts  of  man  and  averted  the  agony  and 
discord  that  proved  more  intense  than  the  war  itself  en- 
gendered. 

The  danger  is  that  as  the  passing  centuries  increase 
the  distance  and  obliterate  the  perspective,  popular  ad- 
miration may  culminate  in  worship,  and  the  tendency 
will  be  to  idealize  and  deify  this  man.  That  would  be 
to  rob  him  of  all  the  splendors  of  manhood.  Human 
infirmities  and  limitations  are  the  basis  of  all  the  mystery 
and  glory  of  his  career.  The  marvel  is  that  upon  the 
coarse  tattered  fabric  of  humanity,  such  delicate  em- 
broidery is  found. 

To  perpetuate  the  fame  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  bronze 
and  marble  have  no  office  to  perform.  Monuments 
simply  dwarf  his  collossal  figure.  He  will  take  his  place 
in  history  as  the  truest  type  of  Americanism.  The  pul- 
pit, the  platform  and  the  press  will  from  year  to  year 
proclaim  anew  his  immortality.  But  there  is  another  in- 
fluence yet  more  potent  and  more  constant.  The  Amer- 
ican mother  will  gather  her  children  about  her  knee,  and 
with  an  eloquence  born  of  the  mother-love,  will  tell  the 
wonderful  story  of  the  poor  boy  who  by  his  own  un- 
aided efforts  became  the  savior  of  a  nation  and  the  liber- 
ator of  a  race,  and  who  then  made  the  supreme  sacrifice 
to  the  cause  of  liberty.  Thus  will  the  way  be  open  for 
his  blessed  influence  to  enter  the  lives  of  our  own  boys 
as  surely  and  unconsciously  as  the  red  drops  shall  visit 
their  brave  hearts.  And  it  follows  as  the  night  the  day, 
that  if  the  patriotic  spirit  of  Lincoln  shall  energize  Amer- 
ican youth  in  the  future  generations,  then  "the  govern- 
ment of  the  people,  by  the  people  and  for  the  people" 
shall  never  perish  from  the  earth. 


THE  PHANTOMS'  OUTING. 


By  John  Goadby  Gbegoby. 

Delightful  in  the  summer  time  with  Nature  to  commune!— 
To  fling  one's  soul  luxurious  upon  the  lap  of  June! 
To  leave  the  bustle  and  the  din, 

The  labor  and  the  care 
Of  city  living,  and  to  spin 
Away  to  country  air! 

The  sun  is  shining  overhead,  the  breeze  is  from  the  west, 
The  fields  and  woods  are  green  and  fresh — the  year  is  at  its  best. 
The   Phantoms  know  where   lovely  lakes 

Hold  mirrors  to  the  sky; 
The  Phantoms  know  where  echo  wakes 
To  greet  the  passer-by; 

The  Phantoms  know  where  hills'  and  slopes'  and  fertile  levels' 

strife 
In  rival  beauty  gives  the  gazer  heightened  joy  of  life; 
And  when  the  summer  time  incites 

The  race  of  man  to  jaunts, 
The  Phantoms  revel,  days  and  nights, 
In  these  idyllic  haunts. 

They  love  the  country's  simple  joys  and  spotlessness  from  sin; 
And  when  their  rustic  rapture  cloys,  they  gather  at  the  inn. 
It  is  not  well  to  live  apart, 

There's  cheer  for  him  who  dwells 
In  touch  with  Nature's  loving  heart — 
And  men — and  good  hotels! 

June  21,  1903. 


!2 


THE  HOSTS  OF    PHANTOMS. 


By  Judge  James  G.  Jenkins. 

The  ruling  spirit  of  this  ghostly  order,  with  that  seduc- 
tive smile  and  engaging  manner  for  which  he  is  distin- 
guished, bewitched  me,  against  my  better  judgment,  to 
prepare  a  paper  for  this  solemn  occasion.  He  desired,  he 
said,  something  by  way  of  dessert  to  follow  the  piece  de 
resistance  of  the  mental  feast.  After  the  thoughtful  dis- 
course of  the  Phantom  of  legal  speculation  ;  after  the  lofty 
flight  of  our  Pegasus,  the  Phantom  of  song;  after  the 
flowing  periods  of  our  Neptune,  the  Phantom  of  water; 
after  the  profound  philosophy  of  our  Baconian  Phantom; 
after  the  marvelous  creation  of  our  Phantom  essayist,  the 
spirits  would  need,  he  said,  something  light  in  aid  of  men- 
tal digestion,  a  course  of  intellectual  whipped  cream,  so 
to  speak — something  without  depth  of  thought — some- 
thing without  substance — something  frothy;  and  so,  he 
said,  "I  come  to  you."  He  also  told  me  it  was  needful  to 
give  a  title  to  the  paper,  but  that  it  was  quite  unnecessary 
that  I  should  speak  to  the  text.  I  have  given  to  this 
screed  the  baptismal  name  "The  Hosts  of  Phantoms."  I 
have  indulged  in  consuming  thought  and  have  burned 
much  midnight  oil  seeking  to  avoid  trenching  upon  my 
text — striving,  like  Dickens'  Circumlocution  Office,  "How 
not  to  do  it" — and  yet  to  give  you  a  paper  which  should 
not  be  wholly  inappropriate  to  the  occasion ;  and  this  out 

43 


44  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

of  deep  cunning  on  my  part  that  you  should  be  at  sea 
touching-  my  subject  so  that  I  might  hold  your  curiosity, 
if  not  your  interest,  to  the  end,  lest  before  the  conclusion 
of  the  paper  I  should  be  left  without  an  audience.  I  trust 
that  in  seeking  to  meet  the  wish  of  our  ruling  spirit,  I 
shall  not  incur  the  application  of  the  saying  that  is  written 
"Mous  parturiunt  et  nascitur  inns."  And  so  I  launch  my 
little  boat  upon  the  Phantom  sea. 

The  practical  religion  of  a  practical  age  declares  as 
infallible  truth  that  man's  first  duty  is  to  his  stomach. 
Unless  that  organ  be  healthy  and  well  supplied,  the  body 
is  not  nourished,  the  brain  works  awry  and  distorted 
fancies  usurp  the  throne  of  reason  and  of  common  sense. 
The  ill-conditioned  stomach  can  neither  rightly  apprehend 
the  present  life  nor  justly  reason  upon  the  life  to  come. 
In  vain  the  missionary  appeals  to  the  starving  savage  to 
comprehend  and  reconcile  the  great  fundamental  doctrines 
of  predestination,  election,  foreordination  and  free  will. 
But  fill  that  empty  stomach  with  wholesome  food,  and 
the  brain  receives  invigorating  force  sufficient,  if  the  treat- 
ment be  timely  prosecuted,  to  digest  even  those  theological 
brickbats. 

The  anarchist  is  merely  a  starving  stomach  crying  for 
food ;  the  protest  of  nature's  law  of  nourishment  against 
man's  law  of  starvation.  Forcible  the  protest,  because 
the  demands  of  nature  are  peremptory ;  violent,  because 
to  the  starving  peaceable  means  seem  unavailing.  A  full 
stomach  is,  politically,  conservative.  An  ill-fed  stomach 
is  radical  in  proportion  to  its  emptiness.  The  safety  of 
the  state  lies  not  in  written  constitutions,  nor  in  armies, 


THE  HOSTS  OF  PHANTOMS.  45 

nor  in  navies,  but  in  well-filled  stomachs.     The  bullet  of 
wheat  is  more  effective  than  the  bullet  of  lead. 

"Let  me  have  men  about  me  that  are  fat ; 
Sleek-headed  men,  and  such  as  sleep  o'  nights ; 
Yond'  Cassius  has  a  lean  and  hungry  look ; 
He  thinks  too  much ;  such  men  are  dangerous." 

In  all  the  progress  of  the  race,  man's  first  effort  has 
been  to  better  his  physical  condition.  The  race  has 
striven — is  still  striving — for  better  homes,  for  better 
clothing,  for  better  food  and,  last,  but  not  least,  for  bet- 
ter cooking.  Not,  perhaps,  to  so  great  an  extent  as  for- 
merly, but  still  in  large  measure  is  it  true  to-day  that 
"Heaven  sends  us  good  meat,  but  the  devil  sends  us  cooks." 

In  spite  of  the  wonderful  advance  in  scientific  knowl- 
edge and  in  the  means  of  information,  but  little  progress, 
outside  of  great  commercial  centers,  has  been  made  in  the 
science  of  cooking.  Cookery  should  be  one  of  the  learned 
professions.  It  is  the  master  of  all.  It  gives  tone  to  re- 
ligious thought.  It  makes  and  unmakes  Presidents.  It 
largely  influences  legislation  and  the  administration  of  the 
law.  It  affects  the  decision  of  the  judge  upon  the  law  and 
the  finding  of  the  jury  upon  the  facts.  It  creates  the  neces- 
sity which  renders  tolerable  the  medical  profession.  It 
solves  the  riddle,  Is  marriage  a  failure?  It  answers  the 
question,  Is  life  worth  living?  But  sad  to  say,  the  science 
of  cooking  is  for  the  most  part  in  the  keeping  of  the 
ignorant  and  careless.  The  coat-of-arms  of  the  average 
cook  should  be  a  weak  concoction  of  coffee  coucliant  with 
a  fried  beefsteak  rampant.  The  cook  is  man's  tyrant.  Be- 
fore this  despot  how  powerless  are  we !     His  sway  is  all- 


46  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

pervading-.  He  is  responsible  for  most  of  the  evils  of  life. 
He  may  be  persuasive  also  to  the  attainment  of  great  hap- 
piness. Mens  sana  in  corpora  sono — a  sound  mind  in  a 
sound  body — is  to  the  rational  mind  the  indispensable 
condition  of  complete  manhood.  The  one  cannot  exist 
without  the  other,  and  both  are  dependent,  in  large  de- 
gree, upon  the  cook.  He  controls  our  destinies,  our  bodies, 
our  nerves,  our  thoughts,  our  ambitions.  His  art,  or 
want  of  skill,  builds  up  or  destroys  the  body,  enriches  or 
impoverishes  the  blood,  strengthens  or  weakens  the  nerves, 
affects  the  very  fibre  of  the  brain,  the  very  quality  of 
thought.  The  success  or  failure  of  enterprises  "of  great 
pith  and  moment"  often  hinges  upon  the  quality  of  one's 
breakfast.  The  Cook  may  be  either  Vishnu  the  preserver, 
or  Siva  the  destroyer.  He  most  frequently  develops  as 
the  latter  divinity.  He  is  the  fruitful  parent  of  dyspep- 
sia— and  dyspepsia  destroys  a  good  statesman,  a  good 
merchant,  a  good  lawyer,  a  good  citizen.  The  dyspeptic 
is  always  a  bear — in  more  senses  than  one — and  as  to 
every  enterprise.  The  well-fed  stomach  looks  grandly  and 
hopefully  upon  life,  its  possibilities  and  its  means  of  use- 
fulness. The  English  are  wise.  Their  appeals  for  char- 
itable, religious  and  public  aid  are  made  at  the  close  of  a 
good  dinner.  The  subtle  chord  of  sympathy  between  the 
stomach  and  the  pocket-book  can  only  be  tuned  to  sweet 
music  by  the  Cook. 

This  tyrant  of  ours  is  unassailable,  entrenched  in  pow- 
er. His  government  is  an  absolute  despotism,  accom- 
panied by  heavy  taxation  without  much  representation. 
There  is  no  republican  form  of  government  in  the  kitchen. 


THE  HOSTS  OF  PHANTOMS.  47 

No  revolution  can  dethrone  him,  and  we  cannot  live  with- 
out our  tyrant.  Although  he  slay  us,  yet  must  we  trust 
in  him. 

"We  majT  live  without  poetry,  music  and  art ; 
We  may  live  without  couscience,  and  live  without  heart; 
We  may  live  without  friends ;  we  may  live  without  books ; 
But  civilized  men  cannot  live  without  cooks." 

Seeing  then  that  much  of  life  depends  upon  the  cook; 
that  the  stability  of  governments  and  the  destinies  of 
men  are  within  his  power,  ought  we  not  as  lovers  of  our 
country  and  of  our  fellows,  to  seek  the  application  of  the 
principles  of  good  government  first — where  it  is  most 
needed — to  the  kitchen?  The  need  is  imperative.  For 
the  relief  of  "God's  Patient  Poor"  let  Gov.  LaFollette 
add  this  also  to  his  role  of  suggested  reforms,  and  break 
down  this  bloated  monopoly,  the  Cook.  The  subject 
brooks  not  delay.  The  governor  should  not  don  the  sena- 
torial toga  until  he  has  compelled  the  Legislature  to  ap- 
propriate action — constitutional  or  unconstitutional,  for 
what  does  the  Constitution  amount  to  among  friends? — to 
curb  our  cruel  tyrant  of  his  power  for  evil.  Let  us  have 
an  appointive  commission  to  establish  rates,  to  correct 
abuses,  to  inaugurate  reform.  We  have  common  schools 
all  over  the  land  to  nourish  the  brain.  Let  us  have  cook- 
ing schools,  maintained  by  the  state,  to  nourish  the  body. 
Let  the  rallying  cry  be,  "Shall  the  coming  woman  cook?" 
It  matters  little  whether  Roosevelt  or  Parker  be  president. 
It  is  essential  to  the  safety  of  the  Republic  that  we  in- 
augurate true  civil  service  reform  in  the  kitchen.  Some 
one  has  said  that  "if  a  man  were  permitted  to  make  all 


48  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

the  ballads,  he  need  not  care  who  should  make  the  laws 
of  a  nation."  Let  the  Phantoms  Peck  and  Petit  name 
the  cooks,  and  I  will  show  you  better  ballads  and  better 
laws. 

The  contract  between  the  ancient  inn  and  the  modern 
hotel  marks  in  striking  manner  the  progress  of  civiliza- 
tion. 

Anciently,  stringent  laws  were  necessary  to  protect  the 
guest  from  the  landlord.  The  latter  was  usually  poor,  of 
rather  unsavory  reputation,  and  sometimes  a  highwayman. 
Being  unable — like  the  modern  landlord — to  absorb  all 
of  his  guest's  money  in  a  legal  way,  he  resorted  to  forcible 
and  unlawful  means  to  obtain  it.  The  inn  of  the  olden 
time  was  a  necessity  to  furnish  a  meag;re  livelihood  to  the 
landlord.  The  hotel  of  a  commercial  metropolis  now  is 
the  plaything  of  a  millionaire. 

Formerly  traveling  even  for  short  distances  from  home 
was  confined  to  the  rich  and  was  infrequent.  The  inn, 
therefore,  was  adapted  only  to  the  needs  of  the  time.  It 
was  small  and  crude  in  its  appointments.  And  yet  it 
must  have  furnished  a  deal  of  comfort ;  for  over  a  century 
ago  so  great  a  man  as  Samuel  Johnson  asserted  that 
"there  is  nothing  that  has  yet  been  contrived  by  man  by 
which  so  much  happiness  is  produced  as  by  a  good  tavern 
or  inn." 

But  so  great  have  become  the  means  of  intercommuni- 
cation in  modern  times,  and  so  confirmed  the  necessity  and 
habit  of  frequent  and  long  journeys,  that  the  inn  has,  at 
all  commercial  centers,  developed  into  a  palace — attended 
by  an  army  of  retainers,  quick  to  meet  the  requirements 


THE  HOSTS  OF  PHANTOMS.  49 

of  the  guest.  Royalty  in  the  time  of  Elizabeth  was  not 
lodged  or  fed  as  is  the  ordinary  American  sovereign  in 
the  modern  inn.  A  ducal  palace  in  all  its  glory  could  not 
compare  with  a  metropolitan  hotel  of  to-day.  It  is  mag- 
nificent in  its  proportions,  royal  in  its  appointments,  epi- 
curean in  its  larder,  luxurious  in  all  its  surroundings.  The 
modern  inn  is  a  sure  indication  of  the  progress  of  the  race 
in  material  wealth  and  physical  comfort. 

And  now  to  get  within  sight  of  my  text.  However 
much  the  modern  inn  is  to  be  commended,  no  one  of  them 
can  excel  in  quiet  and  beautiful  interior,  in  the  comfort 
of  surroundings,  in  luxurious  ease,  in  the  completeness  of 
the  larder — in  the  quality  and  cleanliness  of  the  linen,  in 
the  excellency  of  the  cooking,  in  unassuming  and  delight- 
ful hospitality,  the  homes  of  which  the  Phantoms  are, 
upon  this  outing,  the  guests. 

Every  comfort  is  at  our  bidding.  The  ocean,  the  "un- 
salted  seas,"  the  mountains,  the  forests,  the  great  prairies, 
the  tropics  and  the  Pacific  slope,  each,  after  its  kind, 
yields  of  its  treasures  to  tempt  and  to  satisfy  the  appetite. 
The  table  groans  beneath  the  weight  of  luxury ;  and  here 
are  cooks  upon  whom  the  title  is  well  bestowed.  Artists, 
not  boors,  knowing  better  than  to  fry  a  beefsteak,  and 
able  to  distinguish  the  difference  between  coffee  and  dish- 
water. 

There  is  another  department  in  these  homes  mention 
of  which  may  not  be  omitted.  Ah !  Phantoms,  I  see  your 
eyes  glisten  and  your  mouths  water  at  the  mere  sugges- 
tion— a  department  in  which  is  to  be  found  the  choicest 
beverages,  the  most  fragrant  of  Habanas.     The  Phan- 


50  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

toms'  spiritual  need  is  not  forgotten  here,  and  the  smoke 
oi  his  burning  ascendeth  forever.  Here  is  the  wine  of 
exquisite  bouquet  for  the  Phantom  who  fears  not  the 
morning  after.  Here  is  whisky  with  the  proper  flavor 
of  smoke  for  the  Scotch  Phantom.  Here  is  "the  beer 
that  made  Milwaukee  famous"  for  the  Phantom  with  Ger- 
manic tastes ;  and  here  is  Apollinaris  for  our  Prohibi- 
tion Phantom  from  Chicago.  Whatever  of  luxury  an  un- 
stinted hospitality  can  supply  is  here  to  be  found,  and  the 
Phantoms  are  assured  of  right  royal  welcome  and  of  right 
royal  care.  Well  may  they  be  proud  of  their  Phantom 
Hosts.  Fitting  is  it  that  in  this  year  of  Grace,  they  hold 
their  devotions  here;  for  many  a  year  shall  come  and  go 
before  they  may  enjoy  a  more  cordial  hospitality,  more 
elegant  homes,  more  sumptuous  tables  or  better  cooking 
than  is  offered  here. 

May  I  be  pardoned  for  personal  reference  to  the  Phan- 
tom Hosts  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  this  lavish  hos- 
pitality? It  is  needless  to  speak  of  them  in  any  mere 
words  of  praise.  To  say  that  their  names  are  synonyms 
of  honor,  of  large-hearted  liberality,  of  enlightened  pub- 
lie  spirit,  is  but  to  state  a  proverb.  I  am  sure  it  is  the 
wish  of  every  individual  Phantom  here  that  each  of  our 
Phantom  Hosts  may  long  live  to  enjoy  the  well  deserved 
esteem  of  all,  and  the  fruits  of  an  honest  and  well  spent 
life. 

In  closing  these  solemn  services  I  desire  for  once  to 
speak  directly  to  my  text  and  to  invoke  the  benedictions 
of  the  Shades  for  the  health  and  welfare  of 


THE  HOSTS  OF  PHANTOMS.  5 1 

"The  Hosts  of  the  Phantoms/' 

One — the   profound   lawyer,    the   accomplished    scholar ; 
who,  coming  from  Kansas,  gives,  in  his  own  proper 
person,  affirmative  answer  to  the  ancient  conundrum 
— Can  any  good  thing  come  out  of  Nazareth  ? 
The  other — the  sagacious  merchant — the  able  and  honest 
banker ;  who,  had  he  lived  in  Judea  in  the  year  A.  D. 
32,  would  not  have  been  cast  out  of  the  temple  with 
the  other  money  changers. 
Each — A  public  spirited  citizen, 
A  friend  of  the  poor, 

A  man  who,  if  he  so  desires,  "can  keep  a  hotel," 
A  Phantom,  indeed,  in  whom  there  is  no  guile. 
And  may  the  Spirit  of  the  Phantoms  abide  with  them 
both  evermore. — Amen. 


THE  PHANTOMS. 


By  John  Goadby  Gregory. 

June,  when  the  heart  beats  highest; 

June,  when  the  roses  are; 
June,  when  the  sun  climbs  nighest 

To  the  throne  of  the  polar  star; 
June,  when  Night's  kingdom  shrivels 

And  the  days  wax  bright  and  long; 
When  the  sky  is  blue,  and  the  world  seems  new, 

And  the  woods  are  glad  with  song; 
June,  when  the  glorious  country 

The  dwellers  in  town  invites, — 
June  is  the  month  when  the  Phantoms 

Engage  in  their  cheerful  rites. 

Banished,  when  Phantoms  rally, 

Are  the  megrims,  black  and  blue; 
Welcome  the  witty  sally, 

And  the  beautiful,  good  and  true. 
For  Phantoms  never  are  freaky, 

Nor  indiscreet,  nor  cross. 
Their  motto  is  "Sumus  Amici," 

Their  motto  is  "Inter  Nos"; 
And  whether  they  hold  high  converse, 

Or  whether  they  quip  and  quiz, 
They  draw  the  line  at  the  morbid, 

And  aim  at  the  best  there  is. 

Far  from  the  dust  and  clamor 

Of  streets,  and  the  press  of  men; 
Where  summer  spreads  a  glamor 

On  lake  and  glade  and  glen, 
Where  the  air  is  undiluted, 

The  Phantoms  yearly  flit, 
And  they  feel  their  souls  recruited 

By  the  innocent  joy  of  it. 
So  came  to  old  Antaeos 

The  strength  of  a  second  birth, 
When  he  flung  him  down  in  the  sunshine 

On  the  breast  of  his  Mother,  Earth. 

June  19,  1904. 

52 


ALEXANDER   HAMILTON. 


By  Gerry  W.  Hazelton. 

In  the  realm  of  commanding  intellectuality  Alexander 
Hamilton  had  no  peer  among  his  contemporaries.  I  do 
not  mean  that  he  had  the  supreme  greatness  of  Wash- 
ington, or  the  massive  strength  of  Marshall,  or  the  won- 
derful versatility  of  Franklin,  but  that  he  came  nearer  to 
being  an  intellectual  genius  than  either.  Alexander  Ham- 
ilton would  have  been  distinguished  in  any  age  or  coun- 
try. Bryce  places  him  in  the  vanguard  of  the  world's 
great  intellects. 

Born  in  one  of  the  West  India  Islands,  of  the  best 
Scotch  and  French  stock,  he  attracted  attention  in  child- 
hood by  his  handsome  face  and  courteous  manners.  His 
development  was  so  unusual  that  the  neighbors  thought 
him  a  prodigy. 

When  he  was  fifteen,  his  relatives  and  friends  raised  a 
small  sum  of  money  and  sent  him  to  Boston,  where  he  ar- 
rived in  1772.  From  there  he  shortly  after  made  his  way 
to  New  York.  Here  he  found  friends  who  placed  him  in 
school  and  surrounded  him  with  the  best  social  conditions. 
In  1774  he  entered  King's  College,  but  did  not  remain  to 
graduate.  The  hostile  attitude  of  King  George  had 
aroused  the  colonies  and  become  the  one  topic  of  discus- 
sion.   A  crisis  was  rapidly  approaching.    The  young  man 

could  not,  under  the  circumstances,  pursue  his  college 

53 


54  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

studies.  His  patriotic  sentiments  were  stirred  to  their 
depths.  He  earnestly  espoused  the  cause  of  the  colonies, 
and  began  the  study  of  military  science.  He  recruited 
an  artillery  company,  which  he  drilled  so  eagerly  and 
faithfully  that  General  Greene  was  moved  to  introduce 
him  to  Washington,  and  here  began  an  intimacy  which 
was  to  have  a  marvellous  influence  in  shaping  the  des- 
tinies of  the  republic. 

He  had  a  natural  aptitude  for  affairs.  He  was  a  born 
statesman.  The  tracts  and  pamphlets  written  by  him  at 
the  age  of  seventeen  were  worthy  of  an  experienced  leader. 
He  discussed  the  momentous  questions  of  the  hour  on  the 
platform,  not  as  a  boy  would  discuss  them,  but  as  the 
ablest  orator  of  the  period  would  have  been  proud  to  dis- 
cuss them. 

I  have  no  time  to  speak  of  his  illustrious  record  as  a 
soldier. 

You  will  remember  that  at  the  close  of  the  war  the 
states  were  allowed  to  drift  along  under  the  old  "Articles 
of  Confederation."  These  were  a  mere  makeshift.  No 
executive  head  was  provided ;  no  national  courts  were 
established  ;  and  there  was.  no  method  of  raising  revenue, 
except  by  making  requisition  upon  the  states. 

As  you  will  readily  suppose,  such  a  pitiable  satire  upon 
government  must  ere  long  drift  upon  the  rocks.  Before 
three  years  had  elapsed  the  states  refused  to  honor  re- 
quisitions for  revenue,  and  there  was  no  authority  for 
enforcing  them.  A  general  feeling  of  contempt  for  the 
confederation  sprang  up ;  and  yet  the  state  sovereignty 
sentiment  was  so  deeply  rooted  in  the  hearts  of  the  people 


ALEXANDER  HAMILTON.  55 

that  they  would  not  listen  to  the  suggestion  of  a  national 
organism  with  the  attributes  of  sovereignty.  This  is  the 
period  that  John  Fiske  pronounces  the  critical  period  in 
American  history.  And  it  was.  The  people  were  patri- 
otic, they  gloried  in  independence,  but  they  were  dazed. 
They  could  not  shake  off  their  provincialism.  They  could 
not  grasp  the  situation.  They  could  not  realize  that  the 
states  could  be  welded  into  a  national  organism,  without 
surrendering  their  own  autonomy.  There  were,  more- 
over, many  men  who  were  distinguished  in  their  own 
states.  Would  they  not  lose  their  influence  and  promi- 
nence the  moment  a  national  sovereignty  should  be  estab- 
lished ?  Would  not  a  national  government  absorb  the  liber- 
ties and  rights  of  the  people? 

There  were  a  few  leaders  who  were  large  enough  to 
grasp  the  national  idea.  They  realized  that  a  grave  crisis 
was  at  hand ;  that  the  Articles  of  Confederation  were 
fatally  inadequate ;  that  the  United  States  must  take  their 
place  among  the  nations  of  the  earth;  that  they  must 
have  a  flag  to  protect  their  commerce  on  the  high  seas; 
that  they  must  be  armed  with  power  to  raise  revenue  with- 
out calling  upon  the  states ;  that  they  must  have  an  ex- 
ecutive head  with  authority  to  enforce  the  laws,  and  to 
guard  and  conserve  the  interests  of  the  people  as  a  whole. 

Hamilton  was  one  of  these  leaders,  and  by  far  the 
ablest.  He  threw  himself,  with  all  the  ardor  of  his  nature 
and  the  power  of  his  transcendent  intellect,  into  the  fight, 
Madison  gave  the  movement  his  best  and  most  loyal  sup- 
port. Jefferson  was  in  France;  but  Washington,  Frank- 
lin, John  Adams,  John  Jay  and  others  endorsed  it.     The 


56  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

agitation  of  the  subject  resulted  in  a  constitutional  con- 
vention, held  in  Philadelphia,  which  framed  our  national 
constitution  and  submitted  it  to  the  people  of  the  several 
states  for  ratification.  In  the  framing  of  this  instrument, 
which  Gladstone  said  was  the  greatest  achievement  ever 
struck  off  by  the  human  intellect  at  a  single  blow,  Madi- 
son and  Hamilton  had  the  most  prominent  part. 

You  would  naturally  suppose,  unless  you  have  investi- 
gated the  subject,  that  the  people  were  only  too  eager  to 
ratify  this  most  wise  and  patriotic  achievement.  Not  so; 
no  sooner  was  the  instrument  made  public  than  a  de- 
termined opposition  sprang  up,  and  a  resolute  appeal  was 
made  to  the  people  to  vote  it  down.  The  feeling  of  state 
pride  and  state  sovereignty  flamed  up  anew. 

And  now  the  genius  of  Hamilton  blazed  forth  like  a 
burst  of  sunlight  through  the  rent  clouds.  He  wrote 
pamphlets  and  letters,  he  exerted  his  personal  influence, 
he  set  in  motion  every  agency  he  could  command  to  ensure 
ratification.  He  knew  that  the  feeling  in  his  own  state 
was  adverse,  and  yet  he  did  not  abandon  hope.  Fortun- 
ately the  convention  in  New  York  was  not  convened  till 
after  the  requisite  number  of  states  had  ratified. 

When  the  convention  came  together,  it  was  ascertained 
that  two-thirds  of  the  delegates  were  opposed  to  ratifica- 
tion, and  among  them  were  Yates,  Lansing,  George  Clin- 
ton and  Melancthon  Smith,  all  men  of  marked  ability. 
Among  those  who  favored  the  constitution  were  Jay, 
Livingston  and  Hamilton;  but  it  was  understood  that  all 
hope  of  winning  over  enough  votes  from  the  majority  to 
ensure  ratification  centered  in  Hamilton. 


ALEXANDER  HAMILTON.  57 

It  hardly  need  be  said  that  when  the  convention  or- 
ganized all  the  probabilities  pointed  to  non-ratification. 
Before  a  popular  audience  such  a  forcible  reasoner,  such 
a  consummate  orator  might  hope  to  make  an  impression; 
but  here  was  a  delegate  convention,  embracing  representa- 
tive men,  accustomed  to  think  for  themselves,  elected  upon 
this  very  issue.  It  seemed  idle  to  suppose  that  any  human 
agency  could  change  their  views.  Unfortunately,  no 
adequate  report  of  the  great  debate  is  preserved.  In  our 
time  every  word  uttered  would  be  caught  by  the  reporter 
and  spread  before  the  public  in  the  morning  paper. 

But  we  can  outline  Hamilton's  argument,  from  his 
communications  published  in  the  Federalist,  and  from  our 
knowledge  of  the  questions  to  be  discussed.  The  burden 
of  the  struggle  was  with  the  minority,  and  it  would  nat- 
urally fall  to  Hamilton  to  lead  the  discussion,  and  to 
present  and  enforce  his  views.  This  was  his  opportunity. 
The  momentous  consequences  which  hung  upon  the  final 
vote  of  the  delegates  no  one  knew  better  than  he.  It  was 
his  duty  to  make  an  argument  which  should  not  only 
satisfy  the  friends  of  the  constitution,  but  should  antici- 
pate and  answer  the  objections  of  its  antagonists. 

His  first  object  would  be  to  show  the  utter  inadequacy 
of  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  and  to  establish  that 
something  must  be  done.  On  this  point  he  could  appeal 
to  common  knowledge  of  current  events.  Every  one 
knew  that  there  were  no  funds  in  the  national  treasury; 
that  the  war  debts  of  the  several  states  remained  unad- 
justed ;  that  the  obligations  incurred  by  the  Continental 
Congress  had  not  been,  and  could  not  be  provided  for, 


58  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

as  the  general  government  had  no  means  of  raising 
revenue ;  that  commerce  languished  for  want  of  the  pro- 
tection of  a  national  flag;  that  the  artisan  and  wage- 
earner  were  unemployed ;  that  business  was  paralyzed, 
and  a  dangerous  spirit  of  unrest  was  everywhere  manifest. 

These  conditions  were  elaborated  with  all  the  skill  and 
power  at  his  command. 

Next  in  logical  sequence  would  come  the  consideration 
of  the  constitution  to  be  accepted  or  rejected.  Was  this 
instrument  adapted  to  the  situation?  Here  the  speaker 
enjoyed  a  great  advantage.  He  had  been  a  member  of  the 
convention  which  framed  it.  He  was  perfectly  familiar 
with  all  its  provisions — had  heard  them  discussed.  He 
called  attention  to  the  special  care  which  had  been  exerted 
to  safeguard  all  the  rights  and  preserve  the  autonomy  of 
the  states.  He  demonstrated  that  the  powers  of  the  na- 
tional government  were  expressly  limited  to  subjects  of 
national  concern  ;  that  as  to  all  matters  of  local  interest  the 
sovereignty  of  the  states  remained  unimpaired.  Here  was 
the  sensitive  point,  and  it  was  Hamilton's  aim  to  establish 
his  contention  with  such  clear  and  powerful  reasoning, 
that  it  could  not  be  effectually  assailed. 

He  now  came  to  a  view  of  the  subject  which  he  might 
well  assume  would  appeal  to  the  convention.  He  sketched 
the  settlement  of  Manhattan  Island ;  he  called  attention 
to  its  location  on  the  map ;  to  its  unrivaled  advantages 
as  a  commercial  emporium,  and  pictured,  in  the  glow  of 
his  rich  fancy,  the  metropolis  of  the  new  world  when  the 
commerce  of  the  future,  whitening  every  sea,  protected 
by  the  flag  of  the  Republic,  should  pour  its  treasures  into 


ALEXANDER  HAMILTON.  59 

her  lap.  With  such  a  golden  opportunity  just  within 
reach,  could  New  York — the  great  state  of  New  York — 
afford  to  stand  aloof,  to  surrender  her  natural  advantages, 
and  allow  them  to  pass  to  other  sea-board  cities? 

He  conjured  with  the  name  of  Washington.  He  read 
the  letter  written  by  him  a  few  weeks  before  to  the  Massa- 
chusetts convention,  urging  ratification  in  the  strongest 
terms  he  could  command.  He  assured  his  hearers  that 
Washington  would  be  the  first  President,  and  would  ad- 
minister the  government  in  the  interest  of  the  whole 
people. 

And  then  he  stepped  out  into  the  broader  field  of 
argument,  and  affirmed  that  the  question  before  them 
must  be  considered  not  on  provincial,  but  on  broad  na- 
tional lines ;  that  if  the  people  could  not  be  trusted  with 
the  management  of  national  concerns,  then  the  whole 
fabric  of  popular  government  was  a  manifest  delusion 
and  must  be  given  up.  He  urged  them  to  show  their 
faith  in  the  people ;  to  contemplate  the  beneficence  of  a 
republic  based  on  popular  rights,  illustrating  in  its  onward 
march  the  great  principles  for  which  the  colonies  had  con- 
tended— a  republic  with  power  to  command  the  respect 
of  the  nations  of  the  earth,  and  to  work  out  the  theory 
of  free  institutions  on  a  national  scale,  never  forgetting 
that  the  success  of  the  national  organism  would  alone 
ensure  the  highest  welfare  of  the  states. 

This  is  the  merest  outline  of  an,  argument  which  in 
tact,  in  brilliancy,  in  convincing  power  has  never  been 
surpassed. 


60  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

It  was  manifest  that  a  tremendous  impression  had  been 
produced,  and  the  opposing  forces  put  upon  the  defensive. 
A  running  debate  followed,  participated  in  by  Hamilton 
and  others,  which  continued  for  about  three  weeks,  when 
Melancthon  Smith,  who  had  led  the  opposition,  announced 
that  his  views  had  changed  during  the  discussion,  and 
that  he  should  vote  for  ratification.  This  threw  the  Clin- 
ton forces  into  confusion,  and  Hamilton  scored  the  great 
victory  of  his  life.  The  vote  in  the  convention  was  hailed 
with  jubilation  and  bonfires  in  every  community,  and 
when,  on  his  return  to  New  York  city,  a  monster  parade 
marched  down  Broadway  with  bands  and  banners,  the 
great  champion  of  the  Republic  saw  his  own  name  em- 
blazoned on  the  transparencies,  and  heard  the  acclaim  of 
human  voices  which  rent  the  air  in  his  honor. 

I  believe  it  may  be  fairly  claimed  that  no  more  wonder- 
ful personal  triumph  was  ever  achieved  in  the  intellectual 
arena. 

I  have  only  time  to  advert  in  the  briefest  manner  to 
his  illustrious  service  in  setting  the  new  government  in 
operation.  Washington,  who  understood  his  capacity,  in- 
vited him  to  the  most  important  and  difficult  place  in  his 
cabinet — secretary  of  the  treasury.  As  such  he  assumed 
the  business  management  of  the  administration.  He  not 
only  outlined  a  financial  policy,  but  actually  framed  the 
laws  to  carry  it  into  effect.  His  genius  compassed  every 
detail.  He  inaugurated  the  policy  of  encouraging  home 
manufactures  by  laying  a  duty  on  imports.  He  advo- 
cated and  brought  about  the  establishment  of  a  national 


ALEXANDER  HAMILTON.  61 

bank.  He  provided  a  scheme  for  assuming  the  war  debt 
of  the  states,  and  funding  the  national  debt. 

The  effect  of  his  policies  was  simply  magical.  The 
credit  of  the  government  was  established,  business  re- 
vived, hostility  to  the  constitution  was  silenced,  and  the 
republic  entered  upon  its  career  under  the  most  promising 
and  glorious  auspices. 

It  is  delightful  to  recall  that,  notwithstanding  his  qual- 
ifications for  public  service,  Hamilton  never  schemed  for 
office.  All  his  efforts  from  boyhood  to  the  day  of  his 
untimely  death  seemed  to  be  prompted  solely  by  his  sense 
of  duty.  He  sacrificed  his  eager  ambition  for  an  inde- 
pendent command  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  because  he 
knew,  what  every  reader  of  history  now  knows,  that 
Washington  needed  him  on  his  staff.  He  gave  up  his 
practice  in  1786  in  order  to  arouse  the  people  to  the 
necessity  of  providing  a  national  government.  In  1789 
he  relinquished  his  large  and  growing  income  to  accept 
a  place  in  Washington's  cabinet,  not  because  he  could 
afford  the  sacrifice,  but  because  he  felt  that  he  could  be 
instrumental  in  promoting  the  welfare  and  insuring  the 
success  of  the  government  under  the  national  constitu- 
tion. In  1800,  when  it  was  ascertained  that  Jefferson 
and  Aaron  Burr  commanded  the  same  number  of  electoral 
votes,  he  urged  his  friends  to  vote  for  Jefferson,  a  per- 
sonal and  political  antagonist,  because  he  deemed  Burr 
corrupt  and  unworthy  of  the  office. 

He  was  a  public-spirited  citizen  of  the  noblest  type; 
a  statesman  of  transcendent  ability;  a  patriot  whose  de- 
votion knew  no  limitations. 


62  IIIANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

On  the  marble  slab  above  his  ashes  in  Trinity  Church- 
yard, in  the  great  metropolis  where  he  lived  and  where 
he  was  loved  and  honored,  may  be  read  this  impressive  in- 
scription : 

"The  patriot  of  incorruptible  integrity,  the  soldier  of 
approved  valor,  the  statesman  of  consummate  wisdom, 
whose  talents  and  virtues  will  be  admired  by  grateful  pos- 
terity long  after  this  marble  shall  have  mouldered  into 
dust." 


FAITH  VERSUS  COLLATERALS. 

"We  walk  by  faith  and  not  by  sight.    This  is  the  victory  which 
over  cometh  the  wor/d,  even  our  faith." 


By  John  Johnston. 

Some  years  ago,  a  well-known  attorney  of  Milwaukee 
and  I  were  discussing  questions  bearing  on  the  subject  of 
"Faith,"  and  I  being  inclined  to  place  far  more  impor- 
tance upon  this  grace  than  my  friend,  he  was  not  slow  to 
ridicule  me  for  the  position  I  took,  "because,"  said  he,  "a 
banker  is  well  known  to  be  opposed  to  lending  money  on 
faith,  but  almost  always  insists  on  collaterals."  I  replied 
that  I  would  rather  transact  business  with  an  honest  man 
without  collaterals  than  with  a  dishonest  man  with  col- 
laterals ;  which  only  increased  his  surprise  and  ridicule. 

Six  months  had  elapsed  when  it  transpired  that  my 
friend  had  loaned  several  thousand  dollars  on  bonds  and 
mortgages,  which  turned  out  to  be  forged.  The  next 
time  we  met  he  was  prepared  to  admit  that  I  was  not  so 
far  wrong  as  he  had  at  first  been  inclined  to  maintain. 

After  this  occurrence  I  resolved  that  sometime  I  would 
write  down  a  few  thoughts  on  the  important  part  which 
Faith  takes  in  the  transactions  of  every  day  life,  and  I 
now  submit  them,  trusting  that  they  will  be  judged  leni- 
ently as  coming  not  from  a  writer  but  a  business  man. 

As  faith  is  that  state  of  mind  or  attitude  on  which  re- 
ligion is  largely  based,  and  to  which  religion  makes  its 

63 


64  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

appeals,  an  attempt  is  sometimes  made  to  belittle  faith  and 
regard  it  as  the  guide  of  women  and  children  and  super- 
stitious men.  I  believe,  however,  on  mature  deliberation 
it  will  be  found  that  faith  or  trust  which  is  the  seed-plot 
of  religion  is  substantially  the  same  state  of  mind  in 
which  we  act  every  day  and  hour  in  the  ordinary  business 
and  avocations  of  life. 

Whether  we  believe  in  God  or  not,  whether  we  have 
faith  in  a  future  existence  or  not,  the  system  of  things 
amid  which  we  are  placed,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  con- 
stitution of  our  minds,  on  the  other  hand,  are  such  that 
we  act  almost  continually  in  the  affairs  of  daily  life  on 
faith — the  same  state  of  mind — the  same  principle  to 
which  religion  appeals.  Throughout  the  great  range  of 
human  knowledge  and  all  that  moves  to  human  action, 
whatever  is  not  seen  by  the  senses,  or  whatever  cannot  be 
the  subject  of  strict  demonstration,  must  either  be  a  mat- 
ter of  faith  or  a  matter  of  opinion.  Opinion  is  based 
upon  inference ;  Faith  on  trust. 

Men  do  not  differ  on  what  can  be  perceived  by  the 
senses ;  all  men  believe  that  fire  burns ;  men  do  not  differ 
on  what  can  be  demonstrated ;  all  men  believe  that  twice 
two  are  four.  But  men  do  differ  widely  in  opinions  be- 
cause they  are  grounded  on  inference.  Men  start  from 
different  premises,  and  in  their  deductions  they  wander 
off  into  different  avenues.  The  conservative,  for  example, 
assumes  the  premise  that  the  object  of  civil  government 
is  the  maintenance  of  public  order,  while  the  liberal  starts 
with  the  assumption  that  it  is  the  well-being  of  the  people, 
the  greatest  good  of  the  greatest  number.     It  is  amazing, 


FAITH  VERSUS  COLLATERALS.  65 

the  variety  of  sentiment,  the  difference  of  judgment,  the 
diversity  of  action  arising  from  men's  opinions  because 
thev  are  founded  on  inference  and  not  on  sense  or  demon- 
strations. 

But  all  this  vast  variety  of  opinions  rests  on  a  broad, 
deep,  underlying  substratum  of  Faith.  Faith  is  trust, 
trust  in  those  things  where  we  have  neither  the  evidence 
of  the  senses  nor  the  absolute  demonstration  to  guide  us. 
We  could  not  engage  in  the  activities  of  life  for  a  single 
day  if  we  had  no  faith  in  the  constitution  of  the  natural 
world  as  we  see  it,  and  faith  in  our  fellow  men.  We  lay 
all  our  plans  in  faith  the  sun  will  rise  tomorrow  or  that 
the  temperature  and  component  parts  of  the  atmosphere 
will  be  the  same  tomorrow  as  they  are  to-day,  and  so  on, 
through  all  the  material  surroundings  in  which  we  find 
ourselves  placed.  We  have  no  proof  that  the  sun  will 
rise  tomorrow :  indeed  the  day  will  come  when  it  will 
not  rise.  We  have  no  proof  that  air  tomorrow  may  not 
become  impregnated  with  gases  which  will  destroy  all  life; 
indeed,  the  time  may  come  when  such  will  be  the  case. 
If  the  atmosphere  should  become  only  a  little  more  dense 
than  it  now  is  we  should  all  suffocate ;  if  it  should  become 
a  degree  more  rare  than  it  now  is  we  should  be  frozen 
solid.  When  we  examine  the  stony  records  written  upon 
the  tablets  of  the  earth  we  find  evidence  of  many  vast 
revolutions  in  the  natural  order,  one  condition  of  things 
succeeding  another  until  our  planet  has  reached  a  state 
bearing  no  resemblance  whatever  to  the  earlier  stages  of 
its  history.  Even  the  pole  star  is  in  a  different  place  in 
the  heavens  from  what  it  was  thousands  of  years  ago. 


66  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

Notwithstanding  the  mighty  changes  of  the  past  we 
plan  and  work  in  the  faith  that  the  present  order  of  things 
is  to  continue.  We  cannot  demonstrate  that  it  will  con- 
tinue ;  our  confidence  cannot  even  be  based  on  a  broad  and 
reliable  induction.  We  believe  by  faith  and  not  by  sight, 
and,  if  this  faith  in  the  continuance  of  the  present  order 
should  become  shaken  all  the  great  and  far-reaching  en- 
terprises which  fill  the  activities  of  everyday  life  would  be 
paralyzed.  We  erect  buildings,  we  cut  down  the  forests, 
we  drain  the  swamps,  we  manure  our  lands,  we  sow  seed, 
we  reclaim  the  waste  places  of  the  earth,  because  we  have 
faith  that  we  shall  be  repaid  for  doing  so.  We  have  faith 
in  the  unseen  and  the  future,  precisely  the  same  charac- 
teristic of  mind  as  is  called  forth  in  religion. 

But  it  is  not  alone  in  the  continuance  of  the  present 
order  of  our  environments  that  we  manifest  our  faith :  we 
also  show  it  in  even  a  greater  and  more  remarkable  degree 
in  the  trust  we  repose  in  the  regularity  of  our  fellow  men. 
The  fact  is,  the  more  civilized  we  become,  the  more  we 
live  by  faith.  The  Indian  trusts  his  fellows  but  little ; 
the  more  savage  he  is  the  more  isolated  he  is ;  but  as  men 
come  into  society  they  must  have  faith  more  and  more 
in  their  fellow  men.  The  whole  business  world,  the  whole 
fabric  of  social  life,  rests  on  the  good  faith  of  those  with 
whom  we  deal.  The  employed  trust  their  employer,  the 
patient  trusts  his  physician,  the  depositor  trusts  the 
banker,  the  merchant  sends  his  ship  to  sea  trusting  in  the 
captain  and  his  men.  Every  time  we  travel  on  the  rail- 
way we  show  our  faith  in  the  competence  of  the  engineer 
and  in  the  fidelity  of  every  switchman  and  guard  at  the 


FAITH  VERSUS  COLLATERALS.  67 

crossings.  We  trust  our  police  and  night  watchmen ;  we 
trust  our  grocers  and  butchers ;  and  even  great  battles 
have  been  begun  because  faith  was  placed  in  the  story  of 
some  spy  or  deserter.  When  a  friend  leaves  us  to  visit  a 
distant  country  it  is  only  through  faith  that  he  knew  that 
there  was  such  a  country  to  visit ;  it  is  through  faith  that 
hundreds  and  thousands  trust  themselves  to  a  steamer, 
faith  in  the  captain,  faith  in  the  engineer,  faith  in  every 
cook  and  steward,  faith  that  sufficient  food  has  been  pro- 
vided for  the  voyage,  in  the  instrument  with  which  the 
captain  takes  his  bearings,  in  the  needle  as  true.  This 
Faith  is  omnipresent,  guiding  every  step,  in  common  as 
in  the  momentous  affairs  of  life. 

The  activities  of  every  day  life  are  based  not  only  on 
faith  in  the  continuance  in  the  present  order  of  nature, 
not  only  on  faith  in  our  fellow  men,  but  also  on  what  is 
far  more  uncertain  still,  viz. :  the  indefinite  continuance  of 
our  own  lives  and  those  of  our  fellow  men. 

We  bestow  great  care  on  the  education  of  our  chil- 
dren, to  fit  them  for  the  various  positions  in  life  which 
they  may  be  expected  to  fill.  We  labor  day  and  night  to 
give  them  a  good  start  in  the  world,  without  knowing 
how  they  will  appreciate  our  care  or  whether  they  will 
ever  reach  manhood  at  all.  We  enter  into  engagements, 
we  form  plans,  we  initiate  great  enterprises,  which  we 
would  never  think  of  if  we  were  not  full  of  faith  that  our 
own  life  and  that  of  those  associated  with  us  will  be  pro- 
longed, and  if  we  take  into  account  the  many  lives  which 
enter  our  plans  the  probabilities  are  great  that  some  of 
them  will  terminate  soon. 


68  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

So  far,  then,  from  its  being  true  that  it  is  only  in  matters 
of  religion  that  man  is  called  upon  to  exercise  "Faith,"  or 
that  it  is  only  in  this  relation  that  he  is  required  to  act  on 
evidence  short  of  absolute  certainty  as  to  the  issue  of  his 
conduct,  the  fact  is  that  in  all  the  most  important  affairs 
of  life  we  live  by  Faith  and  not  by  sight,  and  we  expect 
absolute  demonstration  in  not  one  of  a  thousand  of  the 
questions  which  press  upon  us  in  daily  life. 

Again,  the  more  men  act  on  Faith  the  higher  and 
better  they  become.  Faith  in  religion  is  the  same  in 
principle  as  faith  in  worldly  matters,  differing  only  in  its 
object.  When  a  little  child  gives  up  an  hour's  idleness 
today,  for  a  whole  holiday  tomorrow,  he  lives  by  faith 
— the  future  happiness  supersedes  a  present  pleasure.  In 
proportion  then  as  men,  even  in  worldly  affairs,  act  on 
faith  and  not  on  mere  selfish  interest  or  present  appetite, 
in  proportion  as  they  can  refuse  immediate  gratification, 
they  become  more  trustworthy  in  the  various  relations  of 
life,  and  in  like  proportion  does  society  become  pure,  re- 
fined and  stable,  and  in  like  proportion  do  families  become 
happy  and  nations  prosperous.  Men  who  live  by  faith 
and  not  by  sight  even  in  the  most  common  affairs  of  life 
will  keep  rising  higher  and  higher,  while  he  who  lives 
only  in  the  present  hour,  and  for  the  present  hour  will 
have  only  the  reward  of  the  present  hour. 

Not  only  then  are  men  called  upon  to  act  on  the  un- 
certain, as  respects  their  every-day  affairs,  but  they  do  act 
upon  it,  voluntarily,  cheerfully,  persistently.  It  matters 
not  how  many  railroad  accidents  there  are,  men  will  con- 
tinue to  ride  on  the  railways ;  it  matters  not  how  many 


FAITH  VERSUS  COLLATERALS.  69 

dishonest  bankers  there  are,  men  will  continue  to  deposit 
money  in  the  banks ;  it  matters  not  how  many  tricky  law- 
yers and  incompetent  judges  there  are,  men  will  engage 
in  lawsuits ;  it  matters  not  how  many  incompetent  doctors 
there  are,  men  in  the  hour  of  sickness  will  send  for  the 
doctor.  No  instances  of  failure  however  numerous,  how- 
ever striking  and  however  disastrous  they  may  be,  will 
make  men  cease  from  acting  on  faith.  In  fact  they  can- 
not help  acting  on  faith.  Universal  scepticism,  distrust 
and  doubt  would  paralyze  society  and  every  savage  among 
us  would  hunt  his  own  game,  and  make  his  own  clothing 
from  the  animals  he  killed  in  the  chase. 

We  rise  early  and  sit  up  late,  we  work  manfully  and 
cheerfully,  we  assume  present  anxieties  and  forego  pres- 
ent pleasure,  all  for  an  uncertain  good,  expected  to  be 
ours  at  a  future  period — often  a  remote  period,  so  remote 
indeed  that  a  fair  induction  would  place  it  clearly  beyond 
the  probable  duration  of  our  lives. 

Now  of  all  future  contingencies,  the  issues  of  spiritual 
culture  and  discipline,  the  issues  of  acting  from  moral  re- 
gards— of  acting  agreeably  to  the  claims  and  dictates  of 
religious  faith,  are  the  least  uncertain  of  any. 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  a  great  mistake  to  suppose  that 
all  the  issues  of  recognizing  religious  obligation  and  act- 
ing on  Faith  are  postponed  to  a  future  life.  The  life  of  a 
truly  religious  man  has  its  advantages  in  the  present  state 
of  being,  and  these  advantages  are  neither  few  nor  small. 
Take  the  case  of  two  young  men ;  one  chooses  to  gratify 
his  animal  cravings,   his  love  of  unhealthy  excitement, 


70  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

tries  to  shirk  hard  work,  cannot  bear  self-denial  and  per- 
sistent discipline.  You  see  him  every  day  lounging  about 
the  hotels,  smoking  a  cigar,  swaggering  along  the  streets 
with  a  few  boon  companions  vainly  attempting  by  the 
loudness  of  their  conversation  and  dress  to  make  up  for 
the  paucity  of  their  ideas  and  the  unfurnished  condition 
of  their  minds.  There  may  not  be  anything  absolutely 
vicious  in  the  young  man,  but  he  spends  nearly  all  his 
spare  time  (and  he  contrives  to  have  a  good  deal  of  it  to 
spare)  in  the  pursuit  of  may  be  harmless  pleasures  and 
physical  enjoyments.  He  is  laying  up  no  stock  for  the 
future,  he  lives  by  sense  and  not  by  faith,  and  being  de- 
pendent on  external  objects  and  his  senses,  he  is  poorly 
furnished  for  sickness  or  old  age  when  his  animal  powers 
and  susceptibilities  have  decayed.  Another  young  man, 
through  present  self-denial,  discipline  and  hard  work, 
with  the  eye  of  faith  fixed  upon  the  future,  draws  upon 
the  storehouses  of  knowledge,  pursues  science,  studies 
history ;  like  Moses,  by  faith  he  refuses  to  be  called  the 
son  of  Pharoah's  daughter,  choosing  rather  to  suffer  afflic- 
tion with  the  people  of  God  than  enjoy  the  pleasures  of 
sin  for  a  season,  esteeming  the  reproach  of  wisdom 
greater  riches  than  the  treasures  of  Egypt.  When  the 
winter  of  old  age  comes  over  the  physical  nature  it  does 
not  invade  or  diminish  his  resources ;  the  winds  may  howl 
and  the  rains  may  pour,  he  has  his  books,  his  studies,  he 
has  a  storehouse  of  inexhaustible  interest  and  pleasure 
from  which  to  draw.  And  this  is  but  the  first  installment 
of  the  reward  of  pursuing  objects  higher  than  those  of 
sense ;  of  Faith,  as  of  wisdom,  it  may  be  said — 


FAITH  VERSUS  COLLATERALS.  71 

According  as  her  labors  rise, 

So  her  rewards  increase. 
Her  ways  are  ways  of  pleasantness, 

And  all  her  paths  are  peace. 

Those  who  argue  that  a  life  of  sense  is  to  be  preferred 
to  a  life  of  Faith,  are  not  without  reasons  for  their  posi- 
tion. They  claim  that  the  evidence  of  a  moral  govern- 
ment and  the  existence  of  a  moral  governor  comes  short 
of  absolute  certainty.  They  forget  that  absolute  certainty 
would  make  the  formation  of  moral  character  impossible. 
There  can  be  no  moral  action  unless  there  be  room  for 
choice.  Without  room  for  choice  there  can  be  no  test  of 
disposition,  no  discipline,  no  training,  no  evolution  of 
character,  in  fact  no  such  thing  as  moral  character  at  all. 
If  the  results  of  our  conduct  were  to  press  constantly,  in- 
stantaneously, forcibly  on  our  senses,  such  pressure  would 
exclude  room  for  choice,  we  would  cease  to  be  free  agents, 
all  moral  trial,  discipline  and  growth  of  character  would 
be  impossible.  This  hiding  of  the  results  in  the  impene- 
trable future  calls  forth  the  life  of  Faith,  and  this  applies 
not  only  to  religion,  but  to  all  our  secular  activities  as 
well. 

We  are,  however,  under  a  moral  economy ;  and  no 
amount  of  scepticism  as  to  the  fact,  no  rebellion  of  the 
spirit,  however  violent,  will  be  of  any  avail  to  avert  the 
results.  Whatever  a  man  sows  that  shall  he  reap.  The 
harvest  may  be  distant,  but  it  must  surely  come.  We 
hear  of  young  men  sowing  their  wild  oats ;  it  should  not 
be  forgotten  that  they  must  also  harvest  the  crop  thev 
sow.  Show  me  a  man  who  is  living  a  life  of  utter  selfish- 
ness, pursuing  his  own  pleasure  in  disregard  of  all  moral 


72  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

considerations,  and  the  happiness  of  his  fellow  creatures, 
and  I  will  show  you  a  man  who  must  arrive  at  unhappi- 
ness,  either  in  this  world  or  the  world  to  come. 

I  firmly  believe,  however,  that  a  life  of  Faith  is  prefer- 
able even  if  man's  existence  were  to  terminate  with  the 
dissolution  of  the  body.  One  year  of  the  life  of  Faith  is 
worth  more  than  ten  years  of  the  most  successful  career 
of  animal  and  sensuous  gratification.  To  the  man  whose 
ledger  is  his  Bible  and  whose  every  hour  is  crowded  with 
efforts  to  fill  his  barns  or  his  pocket,  it  is  hard  to  explain 
the  high  and  noble  pleasures  to  be  derived  from  imagina- 
tion, affection,  anticipation,  faith.  "A  man's  life  con- 
sisted! not  in  the  abundance  of  the  things  which  he  pos- 
sesseth."  As  I  have  already  explained,  the  man  who  is 
wholly  engrossed  with  the  pursuits  of  the  present,  has  no 
greater  certainty  of  reaping  an  adequate  return  for  his 
labor,  and  he  acts  on  no  more  rational  or  reliable  grounds 
than  the  man  who  is  governed  by  religious  Faith. 

The  man  who  confines  himself  to  the  pursuit  of  secular 
objects,  not  only  proceeds  largely  on  Faith  in  the  great 
majority  of  his  undertakings,  but  he  gives  his  whole  time 
and  attention  to  such  things,  with  the  absolute  certainty 
that  the  period  during  which  he  can  cling  to  such  pursuits 
is  a  very  limited  one,  with  the  certainty  also  that  exclusive 
devotion  to  them,  and  exclusive  enjoyment  of  them  must 
unfit  him  for  any  other  mode  of  life,  a  most  undesirable 
result,  were  there  even  no  more  than  a  small  probability 
of  his  existence  being  prolonged  in  another  state  of  being. 
The  worldly  man  stakes  his  all  on  the  present,  and  we  see 
failures  upon  every  hand.     The  spiritual  man,  the  man 


FAITH  VERSUS  COLLATERALS.  73 

who  lives  by  Faith,  cannot  become  bankrupt.  He  has  be- 
come largely  independent  of  his  environments,  he  is  no 
longer  under  the  tyranny  of  accidents. 

The  fountain  of  his  delight  lies  in  the  everlasting 
Hills,  far  above  the  vicissitudes  of  earth  and  time.  His 
glory  is  in  his  character,  not  in  his  material  riches.  His 
glory  is  in  what  he  is,  not  in  what  he  has.  His  character 
remains,  his  riches  he  must  leave  behind  him  in  a  very 
few  years. 

So  far  I  have  defined  Faith  as  simple  "trust."  Who- 
ever wrote  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews  gave  a  definition 
which  cannot  be  surpassed.  "Faith,"  says  he,  "is  the  sub- 
stance of  things  hoped  for,  the  evidence  of  things  not 
seen."  The  Revised  Version  has  it  "now  Faith  is  the 
assurance  of  things  hoped  for,  the  proving  of  things  not 
seen.  Faith  is  so  strong,  so  full,  so  overpowering  that  it 
is  proof.  The  little  squirrel  as  it  lays  in  its  store  of  nuts 
needs  no  proof  that  winter  is  coming,  its  instincts  tell  it, 
and  is  not  man's  faith  as  much  to  be  trusted  as  the  instinct 
of  the  squirrel  ?     Faith  is  the  proof  of  things  not  seen. 

Paul  speaks  in  his  letter  to  the  Church  at  Corinth  of 
Faith,  Hope,  Charity  or  Love,  but  greatest  of  these  is 
Love.  These  three  graces  are  so  bound  together  they 
cannot  be  separated.  We  cannot  have  faith  in  what  we 
do  not  hope  for  and  love,  we  cannot  love  what  we  have 
no  faith  in.  If  Love  rules  in  heaven,  faith  appropri- 
ates heaven.  Love  would  have  but  a  poor  time  in  this 
world  without  faith.  Faith  must  do  the  fighting.  The 
divinest  attribute  is  Love,  but  the  mightiest  principle  is 
Faith.     Faith  without  works  is  dead — it  is  not  faith.     A 


74  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

Faith  which  is  not  evidenced  by  works  is  like  a  magnet 
which  has  lost  its  power  of  attraction. 

As  Faith  without  works  is  dead,  so  Faith  without 
knowledge  may  become  superstition.  I  am  not  prepared 
to  say  whether  scepticism  or  superstition  is  most  to  be 
deplored.  It  is  difficult  to  know  which  to  pity,  the  snail 
which  folds  himself  in  his  hard  impenetrable  shell,  and 
is  oblivious  alike  to  the  winds  which  blow  and  sun  which 
shines,  or  the  simple-minded  butterfly  which  takes  in  all 
nature  with  unquestioning  eye  and  perishes  in  the  first 
hour  of  twilight. 

All  the  knowledge  we  obtain  from  the  testimony  of 
others  rests  on  our  faith  in  this  testimony.  The  argu- 
ment of  the  Scottish  philosopher,  Hume,  against  miracles 
is  sometimes  quoted  as  something  unanswerable.  Hume 
said  that  no  testimony  can  be  sufficient  to  establish  some- 
thing different  from  the  course  of  nature  to  which  we 
have  been  accustomed  unless  the  testimony  be  of  such  a 
kind  that  its  falsehood  would  be  more  miraculous  than 
the  fact  which  it  endeavors  to  establish. 

Hume  seems  to  have  forgotten  that  a  very  great 
amount  of  the  knowledge  we  have  of  the  course  of  nature 
is  derived  from  the  testimony  of  others,  and  must  be 
taken  on  faith. 

When  the  traveller  told  the  Hindoo  Chief  as  they  stood 
on  the  Banks  of  the  Ganges  and  gazed  on  the  immense 
volume  of  its  water  flowing  downwards  to  the  Ocean, 
that  in  his  country  the  waters  of  the  rivers  sometimes 
became  as  hard  as  stone,  and  men  and  horses  could  travel 
on    their    surface,    the    Hindoo    Chief    virtually    quoted 


FAITH  VERSUS  COLLATERALS.  75 

Hume's  argument.  He  said  no  amount  of  testimony  will 
ever  make  me  believe  that  such  a  change  in  the  course 
of  nature  is  possible.  I  and  my  fathers  for  a  thousand 
years  have  seen  water  and  have  never  seen  it  in  any  other 
but  a  liquid  form,  therefore  no  testimony  of  yours  can 
ever  make  me  believe  such  an  improbable  story  as  you 
now  have  told  me.  If  Hume  were  to  come  back  to  earth 
and  we  should  tell  him  that,  standing  at  one  end  of  a  wire, 
we  could  converse  freely  with  a  person  at  the  other  end 
of  the  wire,  1,000  miles  away,  he  would  no  doubt  quote 
his  ancient  objection  as  unanswerable,  and  say,  When  it 
comes  to  a  conflict  between  my  experience  as  to  the  course 
of  nature  and  my  experience  as  to  testimony,  I  must 
reject  the  testimony.  Yes,  we  all  know  how  far  wrong 
Mr.  Hume  would  be,  although  we  do  not  always  realize 
how  very  little  the  wisest  of  us  know  about  the  so-called 
course  of  nature. 

The  greatest  deeds  of  men  in  the  history  of  the  world 
have  been  by  men  animated  by  faith.  We  cannot  analyze 
faith,  we  cannot  dissect  it,  any  more  than  we  can  tell  why 
the  needle  trembles  to  the  pole,  or  flowers  open  to  the 
sunlight.  Faith  is  a  spiritual  insight  not  possessed  by 
all  men  alike;  it  is  seeing  with  the  eye  of  the  soul  what 
we  cannot  see  with  the  eye  of  the  body. 

The  noblest  and  most  heroic  deeds  of  history  have  been 
done  by  men  who  had  faith  in  themselves,  faith  in  their 
fellow  men  and  faith  in  God.  The  great  teacher  said,  "If 
ye  have  faith  as  a  grain  of  mustard  seed,  ye  shall  say  to 
this  mountain,  remove  hence  to  yonder  place,  and  it  shall 
remove,"  and  we  must  all  remember  circumstances  in  our 


76  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

lives  when  some  great  mountain  of  difficulty  was  removed 
when  we  approached  it  strong  in  faith  that  we  could 
certainly  succeed  in  removing  it. 

The  eleventh  chapter  of  Hebrews  contains  a  grand  roll 
of  honor  of  those  who  in  Jewish  history,  by  Faith  "sub- 
dued kingdoms,  wrought  righteousness,  obtained  prom- 
ises, stopped  the  mouths  of  lions,  quenched  the  violence 
of  fire,  escaped  the  edge  of  the  sword,  out  of  weakness 
were  made  strong,  waxed  valiant  in  the  fight,  turned  to 
flight  the  armies  of  the  aliens;  others  were  tortured,  not 
accepting  any  deliverance  that  they  might  obtain  a  better 
resurrection,  and  others  had  trial  of  cruel  mockings  and 
scourgings,  yea,  moreover,  of  bonds  and  imprisonment ; 
they  were  stoned,  they  were  sawn  asunder,  were  tempted, 
were  slain  with  the  sword,  they  wandered  about  in  sheep- 
skins, and  goat-skins,  being  destitute,  afflicted,  tormented 
— of  whom  the  world  was  not  worthy,  they  wandered  in 
deserts,  and  in  mountains,  and  in  dens  and  caves  of 
earth." 

We  might  speak  of  the  martyr  patriots  of  many  nations 
who  walked  by  faith  and  not  by  sight — who  triumphed 
over  the  trials  of  the  present  seeing  Him  who  is  invisible. 
I  think  it  cannot  be  questioned  that  faith  lies  at  the 
root  of  all  efficient  action,  and  that  a  man  or  a  nation 
is  mighty  in  deed,  precisely  as  he  or  it  is  mighty  in 
faith.  I  do  not  mean  alone  Christian  Faith,  but  I  mean 
that  Faith  which  sees  beyond  the  present  and  believes 
in  the  triumph  of  what  is  right.  By  faith  Leonidas  of 
Sparta  held  the  Pass  of  Thermopylae  with  a  handful 
of  brave  men  against  the  hosts  of  Xerxes.     By  faith — 


FAITH  VERSUS  COLLATERALS.  77 

a  burning  faith — "the  tribes  which  lay  scattered  like  the 
dismembered  limbs  of  a  great  giant  all  over  the  Arabian 
desert"  were  welded  together  and  arose  and  shook  the 
earth  while  every  nation  trembled  at  the  name  of 
Mohammed.  In  the  mountains  and  glens  of  Scotland 
"the  poor  clay  which  for  generations  the  haughty 
barons  had  trodden  into  slime,  became  heated  in  the 
furnace  of  faith,  and  the  tillers  of  the  soil,  the  trades- 
men, the  mechanics  suddenly  became  men  with  strong 
spiritual  convictions  for  which  they  were  ready  to  live 
and  to  die,  and  the  humblest  peasant  feared  not  to  face 
the  dragoons  of  Claverhouse  or  cross  swords  with  the 
night-riders  of  Buccleugh."  By  faith  Cromwell  and 
his  Ironsides,  to  the  cry  of  "The  sword  of  the  Lord  and 
of  Gideon!"  scattered  the  cavaliers  of  Charles  in  many 
a  well  fought  field ;  and  what  shall  we  say  of  Washing- 
ton and  Lincoln  whose  faith  verily  removed  mountains. 

I  need  not  draw  any  more  examples  from  history  to 
show  that  the  men  and  nations  who  were  mighty  in 
action  were  the  men  and  nations  who  were  mighty 
in  Faith ;  and  the  same  is  true  in  the  humbler  walks  of 
every  day  life,  in  the  common  affairs  of  business  or 
politics. 

I  have  said  that  the  man  of  Faith,  has  faith  in  his 
fellow  men,  faith  in  God  and  also  faith  in  himself  as 
God's  servant ;  it  follows  also  that  he  has  faith  in  the 
final  triumph  of  what  is  right.  And  what  peace  of  mind 
this  faith  gives  him !  He  does  not  worry  about  the 
outcome.  Even  Robert  Burns,  poor,  dispirited  and 
tossed  about  with  a  conflict  of  emotions  as  he  was,  had 


78  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

faith   in   the  final   triumph   of  the  brotherhood  of  man. 
He  sang  more  than  a  century  ago 

"It's  coming  yet,  for  a'  that, 

When  man  to  man  the  world  o'er 
Shall  brothers  be,  for  a'  that." 

Yes,  it  is  coming,  great  progress  has  been  made  since 
Burns  wrote  these  lines.  The  eye  of  faith  all  over  the 
world  sees  the  growing  light  of  the  rising  sun  of  uni- 
versal peace,  and  T  am  sure  every  lover  of  his  race 
responds  "God  speed  the  day !"  I  believe  there  never 
was  a  time  in  the  history  of  the  world  when  there  were 
so  many  men  and  women  of  faith  as  there  are  at  the 
present  moment.  I  mean  intelligent  faith,  not  ignorant, 
supersitious  faith.  He  who  has  Faith  has  Peace. 

The  gross,  blatant  infidelity  and  atheism  of  a  few 
generations  ago  have  almost  wholly  disappeared.  Inger- 
soll  was  the  last  who  advocated  such  a  coarse  and  heart- 
less crushing  out  of  the  noblest  aspirations  of  the  soul. 
I  have  recently  been  reading  some  of  the  writings  of  the 
late  John  Fiske,  and  it  is  remarkable  how  age  and  maturer 
wisdom  modified  his  earlier  views,  swinging  him  around 
from  something  like  scepticism  to  the  most  supreme  Faith 
in  God  and  an  existence  beyond  the  grave. 

No  Christian  could  write  in  a  more  triumphant  strain 
than  he  does  in  some  of  his  later  writings.  He  maintains 
that  the  doctrine  of  evolution  has  placed  humanity  upon 
a  higher  pinnacle  than  ever.  In  his  essay  on  "The  Des- 
tiny of  Man"  he  says,  "The  future  is  lighted  for  us  in  the 
radiant  colors  of  hope.  Strife  and  sorrow  shall  disap- 
pear, peace  and  love  shall  reign  supreme.     The  dream  of 


FAITH  VERSUS  COLLATERALS.  79 

poet,  the  lesson  of  priest  and  prophet,  the  inspiration  of 
the  great  musician  is  confirmed  in  the  light  of  modern 
knowledge,  and  as  we  gird  ourselves  up  for  the  work  of 
life,  we  may  look  forward  to  the  time,  when  in  reality 
'the  kingdoms  of  this  world  shall  become  the  kingdoms 
of  Christ,  and  he  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever,  King  of 
Kings,  and  Lord  of  Lords.'  "  To  this  grand  prediction 
I  am  sure  we  all  respond  Amen. 


THE  FATED  ARMY. 


By  John  Goadby  Gregory. 

Behold  the  files  upon  the  hill 

Salute  the  glowing  morn, 
And  see  the  sun  of  summer  drill 

The  soldiers  of  the  corn. 

Cockaded  and  Deplumed,  all  grand 

In  uniforms  of  green. 
Upright  and  tall  and  strong  they  stand; 

Their  swords  are  long  and  keen. 

As  far  as  eye  can  reach,  they  spread 

To  east  and  west  away. 
So  stretched  the  host  by  Xerxes  led, 

That  perished  in  a  day. 

A  doom  as  swift  the  corn  shall  smite 

As  Xerxes'  troops  befell. 
And  not  a  soldier  live  at  night 

The  havoc's  tale  to  tell. 


80 


THE  PHANTOM  OF  PHANTOM 

LAKE. 


By  Rolland  L.  Porter. 

This  story  was  told  to  me  by  an  old  trapper  who  used 
to  trap  along  the  Fox  river,  near  which  I  lived.  I  was 
a  boy  then,  and  he  was  an  old  man;  so  you  can  see  it 
dates  back  early  in  the  century. 

Since  it  is  his  story,  perhaps  a  description  of  him  and 
his  surroundings  would  not  be  out  of  place. 

Imagine  yourselves  plodding  along  in  timber  so  thickly 
covered  with  trees  and  brush  that  you  can  scarcely  see 
ten  rods,  and  suddenly  coming  out  onto  a  little  shack, 
so  well  protected  by  its  color  and  the  surrounding  timber 
that  you  could  scarcely  find  it  again  if  you  wandered  off 
a  short  distance.  The  south  side  of  this  hut  is  nearly 
covered  with  skins;  the  north  side  has  a  small  window 
and  a  door,  both  of  which  are  open.  The  old  trapper 
sits  outside,  skinning  a  muskrat,  and  is  pleased  to  see  a 
visitor,  as  few  come  his  way.  He  is  the  wreck  of  a  once 
well-built  and  good-looking  man.  You  can  scarcely  call 
him  a  wreck  either ;  he  is  still  powerful-looking,  although 
his  long  gray  hair  and  grizzly  beard  detract  from  that 
effect.  Enough  of  the  trapper  and  his  home.  Under  such 
circumstances  I  visited  him  one  day  about  the  year  1855. 
He  was  glad  to  see  me,  and,  being  in  a  reminiscent  mood, 
said:     "I  will  tell  you  a  story  which  is  not  a  story.     It 

81 


82  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

is  the  history  of  a  lake  with  which  you  are  familiar." 
He  then  proceeded  to  relate  the  story  which  I  tell  you 
tonight.  I  will  give  it  in  his  words,  without  attempting, 
however,  to  give  you  the  dialect,  and  may  it  lose  none  of 
its  weirdness. 

"About  fifty  years  ago,  when  this  country  was  the 
unmolested  home  of  my  truest  friend,  the  Indian,  I  was 
living  with  a  tribe  of  Winnebagoes.     We  had  come  down 
one  fall  from  the  north  to  Mukwonago,  'the  place  of  the 
bear,'  on  account  of  the  scarcity  of  game  in  our  region 
and  the  abundance  here.     We  settled  on  what  was  called 
Mi-ni-wau-kan,  or  Spirit  lake.     We  had  not  been  there 
long  when  a  stray  band  of  Sacs  came  and  camped  near 
us.     They  also  had  been  starved  out  in  their  territory. 
As  they  were  stronger  than  we,  and  were  inclined  to  be 
agreeable,  we  raised  no  objections.     In  about  two  weeks, 
however,    a    tribe    of    Winnebagoes    pitched    their    wig- 
wams on  the  other  side  of  the  Sacs  from  us.     The  two 
camps  greatly  outnumbered  the  Sacs,  and  there  certainly 
would  have  been  trouble  if  the  Sacs  had  not  realized  this 
and  carefully  avoided  us.    The  Winnebagoes  would  have 
nothing  to  do  with  the  Sacs,  with  the  exception  of  two 
youths,  Zi-ca-ho-ta,  'the  Squirrel,'  of  the  former,  and  Ho- 
ma-ba,  'the  Wild  Man,'  of  the  latter  tribe.     These  two 
had    fallen    in    love    with    I-wo-so,  'Pouting    Lips,'  the 
daughter  of  the  Sac  chief,  Ma-to-cin-ca-la.       Zi-ca-ho-ta 
was  the   favorite   of  the  tribe,  and   was  richer  in  skins 
than  any,  excepting  his  father,  the  chief.     He  was  ordi- 
narily a  very  quiet  fellow,  but  his  infatuation  for  I-wo-so 
made  him  equal  in  recklessness  to  his  rival,  Ho-ma-ba. 


PHANTOM  OF  PHANTOM  LAKE.  83 

I-wo-so  favored  Ho-ma-ba,  who  declared  publicly  that 
he  would  win  the  Sac  maiden,  but  Ma-to-cin-ca-la,  her 
father,  favored  Zi-ca-ho-ta.  Zi-ca-ho-ta  wooed  Ma-to- 
cin-ca-la  and  avoided  the  maiden.  He  told  of  his  wealth 
and  his  aspirations  for  the  seat  of  his  father,  the  chief, 
and  this  won  the  sachem.  Ho-ma-ba,  meanwhile,  avoided 
the  chief  and  wooed  the  maiden.  He  told  of  his  prowess 
in  war,  his  cunning  in  the  hunt,  and  gained  her  love. 

"It  is  needless  to  say  I-wo-so  told  nobody  of  her  pref- 
erence, and  Ho-ma-ba  was  seldom  seen  at  the  wigwam  of 
I-wo-so.  Zi-ca-ho-ta  was  warmly  welcomed  to  the  lodge 
by  Ma-to-cin-ca-la  and  was  always  well  treated  by  I-wo- 
so.  Ho-ma-ba  mysteriously  disappeared.  Nobody  had 
seen  him;  nobody  knew  where  he  was.  Some  thought 
he  had  been  killed  by  Zi-ca-ho-ta,  but  those  who  knew 
Zi-ca-ho-ta  ridiculed  the  idea.  The  belief  spread,  how- 
ever, and  when  Ho-ma-ba  had  been  gone  a  week  the  chief 
told  Zi-ca-ho-ta  that  unless  he  produced  Ho-ma-ba  in 
four  days  he  would  be  punished  for  the  crime.  Of 
course,  that  was  wrong,  but  it  was  the  mandate  of  the 
chief  and  had  to  be  complied  with.  Hopeless  as  the  case 
seemed,  Zi-tca-ho-ta  started  out  to  find  Ho-ma-ba,  and 
worked  as  zealously  as  though  he  had  been  his  brother. 
He  had  been  gone  three  days  and  did  not  succeed  in 
getting  any  trace  of  him.  On  the  night  of  the  fourth 
day  the  people  were  all  sitting  around  the  fire.  They 
were  all  so  anxious  about  the  mystery  of  Ho-ma-ba's  dis- 
appearance that  the  small-talk  of  the  young  braves  inter- 
ested them  very  little,  but  they  gave  full  attention  when 


84  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

the  old  warrior  started  to  tell  them  the  legend  of  Mi-ni- 
wau-kan  lake,  where  they  were  encamped. 

"The  old  man  told  them  that  the  Mi-ni-wau-kan,  or 
Water-spirit,  dwelt  in  this  lake,  and  claimed  for  his  bride 
the  fairest  maiden  among  the  tribes.  In  vain  did  the 
people  try  to  keep  her  from  the  lake ;  some  irresistible 
influence  drew  her  there,  and  she  was  seen  no  more. 
Sometimes  she  went  for  water,  sometimes  she  went  out  in 
the  canoe,  sometimes  she  was  sitting  on  the  bank.  It 
made  no  difference,  the  Mi-ni-wau-kan  had  never  been 
deprived  of  his  bride.  Some  believed  this  story  of  the 
old  man;  the  majority  did  not — not  that  they  thought  it 
impossible,  they  simply  thought  it  improbable,  since  they 
had  never  heard  of  it  before.  They  were  discussing  the 
subject  when  Zi-ca-ho-ta  came  into  camp.  He  had  not 
found  Ho-ma-ba,  but  said  he  would  show  him  to  them 
before  the  moon  was  an  hour  high.  Zi-ca-ho-ta  went  to 
his  wigwam  and  stayed  until  moonrise,  when  he  quietly 
went  down  to  the  lake.  He  had  told  the  people  to  go 
to  the  shore  without  making  any  noise,  and  his  wish  was 
complied  with,  as  they  were  all  eagerness  to  see  the  out- 
come of  his  foolish  idea. 

"Zi-ca-ho-ta  stepped  quietly  into  his  canoe,  pushed  it 
gently  from  the  shore,  and  kneeled  with  his  paddle  up- 
lifted, waiting.  There  he  remained  for  nearly  an  hour. 
The  people  were  getting  uneasy,  but  followed  his  instruc- 
tions and  kept  quiet.  He  had  but  three  minutes  left  of 
the  time  allotted,  when  suddenly  a  canoe  darted  out 
from  under  the  bank  near  the  Sac  camp  and  started  down 
the  lake.     Zi-ca-ho-ta  waited  until  it  was  nearly  opposite, 


PHANTOM  OF  PHANTOM  LAKE.  85 

then  paddled  out  swiftly  and  intercepted  it.  There  were 
two  figures  in  the  canoe,  but  in  the  dim  and  uncertain 
light  they  could  not  be  recognized  from  the  shore.  The 
people  believed,  however,  that  it  contained  Ho-ma-ba  and 
I-wo-so. 

"Zi-ca-ho-ta,  with  a  cry  of  exultation,  leaped  from  his 
canoe  to  that  of  his  rival,  with  his  'mila'  or  hunting- 
knife,  in  his  hand,  and  grappled  with  the  foremost  figure. 
A  quick  thrust  with  the  keen  mila,  a  death  cry,  and  two 
figures  fastened  together  by  the  fatal  clutch  of  death  fell 
over  the  side  and  disappeared.  The  figure  in  the  stern 
never  moved  throughout  this  terrible  scene,  but  sat  as 
motionless  as  if  carved  out  of  stone.  The  people  on  the 
bank  had  hardly  caught  their  breath  after  this  first  great 
tragedy,  when  a  form  raised  out  of  the  water  behind  the 
canoe,  took  the  young  girl  in  its  arms  and  dragged  her 
shrieking  beneath  the  surface.  The  ripples  died  away,  and 
nothing  was  seen  but  the  two  empty  canoes.  The  spell- 
bound watchers  gazed  for  a  while  stupefied,  and  then 
went  back  to  camp,  muttering.  'The  Mi-ni-wau-kan  has 
received  his  bride  !'  Those  who  had  been  skeptics  became 
believers. 

"The  next  morning  the  Indians  struck  camp,  and  there 
has  never  been  an  Indian  encampmment  on  this  lake  since 
that  fatal  night.  I  alone  stayed,  but  soon  moved  from 
there  to  this  spot  on  the  Fox  river." 

Thus  ended  the  trapper's  story. 

At  half  past  n  on  the  night  of  September  2  of 
every  year  a  faint,  ghostly  light  comes  over  the  lake, 
and   this   same   tragedy   is   re-enacted.     If   any   of   you 


86  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

Phantoms  ever  happen  to  be  in  the  vicinity  on  this  date, 
go  to  the  lake  and  see  for  yourselves  the  fatal  duel.  Hear 
the  splash  and  witness  the  disappearance  of  the  rival 
lovers.  See  the  Mi-ni-wau-kan,  the  water  spirit,  claim 
the  bride  and  hear  the  shriek  of  the  Princess  I-wo-so,  and 
judge  for  yourselves  whether  or  not  the  little  lake  is  not 
rightly  called  Nagi,  or  Phantom  lake. 

I  have  seen  all  this  and  know  whereof  I  speak. 


WAS    SHAKESPEARE  A    LAWYER 
OR    A    LAWYER    SHAKES- 
PEARE ? 


By  DeWitt  Davis. 

It  is  related  of  a  prominent  Southern  gentleman  of  the 
old  school,  of  convivial  habits,  and  distinguished  for  his 
generous  hospitality,  that  he  was  so  peculiarly  indulgent 
to  the  humors  of  his  guests,  that  he  would  permit  almost 
any  liberty  on  their  part,  even  to  the  extent  of  brooking  a 
personal  affront,  with  cheerful  equanimity ;  but  if  any  one 
ventured  to  mention  or  discuss  the  tariff,  he  was  forth- 
with requested  to  leave  the  table,  and  thereafter  was  never 
invited  to  partake  of  his  hospitality. 

If  any  of  my  listeners  experience  a  similar  shuddering 
aversion  at  the  mention  of  the  somewhat  hackneyed  topic 
relating  to  the  authorship  of  Shakespeare's  works,  I  trust 
that  he  will  not  invoke  a  similar  penalty,  and  that,  for  a 
few  minutes,  he  will  exercise  that  forbearance  which, 
among  Phantoms,  is  expected  to  supplant  criticism,  and 
that  patience  which  will  find  relief  in  the  themes  of  those 
who  are  to  follow  me. 

There  has  always  been  a  strong  propensity  in  the  hu- 
man mind  towards  idolatry  and  hero-worship,  and  an  in- 
born disposition  to  enlarge  the  attributes  of  those  exalted 
objects  which  evoke  its  homage  and  adoration.  And 
it  has  never  been  an  easy,  nor  often  a  pleasing  task  to 

87 


88  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

attempt  to  dethrone  a  popular  idol,  whether  enthroned 
through  a  long  ancestry  of  fahle  and  tradition  among 
Olympian  divinities,  or,  in  later  times,  wearing  the  regal 
diadem  of  sovereignty,  or  the  laurel  crown  of  statecraft 
or  of  authorship ;  and  perhaps  it  makes  very  little  differ- 
ence whether  the  original  title  to  the  coronet  may  have 
been  founded  upon  legitimate  authority,  or  acquired 
through  a  tacit  and  unopposed  usurpation.  But  the  time  is 
past  when  statutes  of  limitation  were  pleaded  in 
the  jurisdiction  of  historical  research,  and  unassail- 
able titles  acquired  therein  founded  solely  upon  the 
claims  of  prescription.  Mr.  Appleton  Morgan,  the  author 
of  several  books  relating  to  Shakespeare,  says : — "Since 
"Shakespeare,  grand  as  it  is,  is  not  Holy  Writ,  or  the 
"Koran,  I  respectfully  submit  that  those  questions,  as  to 
"the  authorship  of  Shakespeare,  are  dignified  and  respect- 
"able,  and  entitled  to  the  respectful  consideration  of 
"students,  whether  their  motive  be  instruction  or  mere 
"curiosity." 

Apparently  very  little,  if  anything,  new  upon  this  sub- 
ject can  be  said  in  the  way  of  instruction,  which  has  not 
already  been  written  in  the  hundreds  of  volumes  and 
pamphlets  wherein  it  has  been  discussed,  and  it  is  rather 
in  the  direction  of  curiosity  that  this  paper  has  been  pre- 
pared. 

One  hundred  and  fifty  years  after  Shakespeare's  death, 
George  Steevens,  a  well  known  commentator  upon  his 
works,  wrote: — "All  that  is  known  with  any  degree  of 
"certainty  concerning  Shakespeare  is  that  he  was  born  at 
"Stratford-upon-Avon,  married  and  had  children  there, 


WAS  SHAKESPEARE  A  LAWYER.  89 

"went  to  London,  where  he  commenced  actor,  wrote 
"poems  and  plays,  returned  to  Stratford,  made  his  will, 
"died  and  was  buried."  The  assiduous  researches  of 
nearly  a  century  and  a  half  since  have  discovered  little 
more  than  this,  but  admiring-  biographers  have  been  busy 
collating  imaginary  facts,  and  enlarging  upon  doubtful 
traditions,  to  sketch  a  life  of  Shakespeare  that  would  fitly 
correspond  with  the  assumption  that  he  "zvrote  poems 
and  plays,"  while  others  in  recent  years,  with  perhaps 
more  critical  scrutiny,  have  been  equally  industrious  in 
endeavoring  to  prove  that  such  assumption  is  unwar- 
ranted, until  the  controversy  as  to  the  authorship  of 
Shakespeare  has  become  the  great  literary  puzzle  of  the 
age. 

There  is  no  doubt,  and  no  controversy  among  scholars 
and  literary  critics,  as  to  very  many  significant  facts  con- 
cerning the  author  of  the  Shakespearean  plays  and  poems. 
It  is  conceded  that  he  was  a  man  of  profound  learning,  and 
extensive  scholarship ;  that  he  was  versed  in  the  Latin  and 
Greek  languages ;  that  he  wrote  French  grammatically, 
if  not  idiomatically,  correct ;  that  he  was  familiar  with  the 
Italian  language,  founding  several  of  his  plays  upon  ob- 
scure novels  in  that  language  of  which  there  then  existed 
no  English  translations ;  that  he  was  acquainted  with 
ancient  and  modern  history,  with  ancient  mythology,  with 
the  knowledge  of  scientific  terms  and  theories,  and  with 
the  legends  and  untranslated  literature  of  the  North. 

But  it  is  in  his  thorough  and  accurate  knowledge  of 
English  law,  of  pleading  and  practice,  and  the  correct  use 
of  its  maxims  and  technical  phrases,  that  the  author  ex- 


90  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

hibits  his  greatest  learning  and  his  distinctive  profes- 
sional acquirements.  Lord  Chief  Justice  Campbell  sum- 
med up  the  evidence  upon  this  question  as  follows: — 
"I  am  amazed  not  only  at  the  number  of  juridical  phrases 
"and  forensic  allusions,  but  by  the  accuracy  and  propriety 
"with  which  they  are  uniformly  introduced.  While 
"novelists  and  dramatists  are  constantly  making  mistakes 
"as  to  the  law  of  marriage,  of  wills,  and  inheritance,  to 
"Shakespeare's  law,  lavishly  as  he  propounds  it,  there  can 
"neither  be  demurrer,  nor  bill  of  exceptions,  nor  writ  of 
"error." 

Richard  Grant  White  says : — "The  technical  language 
"of  the  law  runs  from  his  pen  as  a  part  of  his  vocabulary, 
"and  parcel  of  his  thought." 

A  more  recent  writer  says : — "It  is  demonstrated  that 
"he  was  a  ripe,  learned,  and  profound  lawyer,  so  saturated 
"with  precedent,  that  at  once  in  his  sublimest  and  sweetest 
"flights  he  colors  everything  with  legal  dyes,  sounding 
"every  depth  and  shoal  of  poetry  in  only  the  juridical 
"key." 

Some  twenty  years-  ago  the  late  Senator  Davis  of  Min- 
nesota, distinguished  alike  for  his  great  ability  as  a  lawyer 
and  statesman,  and  for  his  eminent  literary  acquirements, 
published  an  interesting  book,  entitled  "The  Lazv  of 
Shakespeare,"  in  which  he  quoted  no  less  than  312  pas- 
sages from  Shakespeare's  works,  and  indexed  over  800 
citations,  where  legal  terms  and  phrases  were  em- 
ployed. Among  other  apt  and  forcible  comments,  the 
author  says : — "The  most  abstruse  elements  of  the  com- 
"mon  law  are  impressed  into  a  disciplined  service  with 


WAS  SHAKESPEARE  A  LAWYER.  91 

'every  evidence  of  the  right  and  knowledge  of  command- 
ing. No  legal  solecisms  will  be  found.  Over  and  over 
'again,  where  such  knowledge  is  unexampled  in  writers 
'unlearned  in  the  law,  Shakespeare  appears  in  perfect 
'possession  of  it.  In  the  law  of  real  property,  its  rules 
'of  tenures  and  descents,  its  entails,  its  fines  and  re- 
'coveries,  and  their  vouchers  and  double  vouchers ;  in  the 
'procedure  of  the  courts,  the  methods  of  bringing  suits, 
'and  of  arrests,  the  nature  of  actions,  the  rules  of  plead- 
'ing  and  the  principles  of  evidence ;  in  the  distinction  be- 
'tween  temporal  and  spiritual  tribunals ;  in  the  law  of 
'attainder  and  forfeiture ;  in  the  learning  of  the  law  of 
'prerogative;  in  the  inalienable  character  of  the  crown, — 
'this  mastership  appears  with  surprising  authority.  *  *  * 
'He  exhausts  the  capacity  of  the  terms  he  employs.  He 
'utters  them  at  all  times  as  standard  coin,  no  matter  when 
'or  in  what  mint  stamped.  *  *  *  These  emblems  of  his 
'industry  are  woven  into  his  style  like  the  bees  into  the 
'imperial  purple  of  Napoleon's  coronation  robes." 

Mr.  Franklin  Fisk  Heard  in  a  small  volume  upon  the 
same  subject  says : — "Authors  do  not  use  technical  terms 
"in  the  familiar  way  in  which  Shakespeare  speaks  of  the 
"law,  unless  the  terms  are  really  familiar  to  them  by  fre- 
"quent  use,  and  among  these  are  some  which  few  but  a 
"lawyer  would,  and  some  even  which  none  but  a  lawyer 
"could  have  written." 

This  statement  finds  support  in  nearly  all  of  Shakes- 
peare's plays  and  poems.  Who  but  a  lawyer  would  have 
been  familiar  with  the  argument  advanced  in  an  old  and 
curious  case,  contained  in  one  of  Plowden's  Reports,  and 


92  PH AXIOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

paraphrased  it  into  the  "Crowner's  quest  law"  of  the  two 
clowns  in  Hamlet,  or  have  conceived  Hamlet's  soliloquy 
over  the  imagined  skull  of  a  lawyer?  Who  but  one  thor- 
oughly versed  in  the  technical  phrases  of  the  common  law 
and  pleading  would  have  written  the  following: — 

"Mine  eye  and  heart  are  at  a  mortal  war 

How  to  divide  the  conquest  of  thy  sight  : 
Mine  eye   my  heart  thy  picture's  sight  would  bar, 

My  heart  mine  eye  the  freedom  of  that  right. 
My  heart  doth  plead  that  thou  in  him  doth  lie — 

A  closet  never  pierced  with  crystal  eyes — 
But  the  defendant  doth  that  plea  deny 

And  says  in  him  thy  fair  appearance  lies. 
To  'cide  this  title  is  impanneled 

A  quest  of  thoughts,  all  tenants  to  the  heart, 
And  by  their  verdict  is  determined 

The  clear  eyes'  moiety  and  the  dear  heart's  part." 

It  should  be  noticed  that  the  writers  and  critics  who 
have  discussed  this  peculiar  branch  of  the  author's  learn- 
ing have  apparently  overlooked,  or  ignored,  the  significant 
fact  that  the  law  and  its  pleading  and  practice  in  Shakes- 
peare's time  was  much  more  intricate,  and  more  greatly 
encumbered  with  foreign,  technical,  and  abstruse  phrases, 
than  at  the  present  day,  and  with  very  many  such  which 
have  become  known  as  "the  recondite  curiosities  of  the 
law,"  from  which  modern  jurisprudence  is  comparatively 
free.  No  casual  or  superficial  study  of  the  law  would 
enable  a  writer  to  make  a  copious  use  of  the  technical 
phrases  of  the  law,  now  in  common  use,  with  continuous 
accuracy  and  propriety.  How  far  more  difficult  would  it 
have  been  in  Shakespeare's  time,  for  any  one  not  profess- 
edly a  law  student,  or  a  practitioner  at  the  bar,  to  have 
acquired  the  facility  for  the  proper  use  of  legal  terms,  and 


WAS  SHAKESPEARE  A  LAWYER.  93 

a  comprehensive  knowledge  of  the  law,  often  written  in 
law  Latin,  and  law  French,  its  processes,  pleadings  and 
judgments  padded  with  Latin  quotations  and  abstruse 
technicalities,  with  their  nice  distinctions  prevailing  in  the 
different  Common  law,  Chancery,  and  ecclesiastical  tri- 
bunals,— when  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  intricacies  of 
the  law  of  real  estate  and  pleading  alone  would  have  re- 
quired years  of  studious  application,  and  when  such  things 
as  Law  Dictionaries  and  Digests  were  comparatively  un- 
known. 

Had  the  author  of  Shakespeare's  works  not  been  bred 
to  the  law,  his  facility  in  the  use  of  technical  phraseology 
would  unquestionably  have  been  exhibited  in  other  arts 
and  professions  to  an  equal  extent  and  with  equal  pre- 
cision, but  nowhere  does  such  appear  to  be  the  fact,  and 
"in  an  age  especially  military,  with  wars  by  sea  and  land, 
he  displays  little  knowledge  of  military  or  naval  tactics," 
compared  with  his  mastery  of  the  law. 

It  was  equally  true  in  Shakespeare's  time,  as  it  has 

continued  to  be  since,  that  no  author  can  readily  conceal 

the  traces  of  his  former  pursuits,  or  divest  his  works  of  the 

evidence  of  the  predominant  occupation  of  his  faculties. 

"Their  nature  is  subdued 
To  what  it  works  in,  like  the  dyer's  hand." 

Byron  and  Burns  wrote  as  experts  in  the  passionate 
domain  of  love ;  Wordsworth  of  the  beauty  of  rural  scenes  ; 
Whittier  of  liberty  and  human  rights.  The  works  of 
Sir  Walter  Scott  disclose  the  evidence  of  his  preparation 
for  the  Bar.  Anyone  who  ever  heard  Mr.  Spurgeon,  the 
eminent  London  preacher,  must  at  once  have  perceived 


94  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

that  his  great  power,  as  a  pulpit  orator,  was  very  largely 
owing  to  his  thorough  knowledge  of  the  Bible,  and  the 
facility  with  which  he  quoted  striking  and  familiar  texts, 
fitting  them  to  the  drift  and  setting  of  his  discourse  with 
as  perfect  a  shading  as  the  polished  mosaics  in  a  portrait 
or  a  painting.  The  most  convincing  argument  to  prove 
that  Sir  Philip  Francis  wrote  the  letters  of  Junius  was 
that  he  had  been  employed  in  the  war  office,  and  was 
familiar  with  the  conditions  he  criticized  or  censured. 

The  most  eminent  of  recent  English  biologists  has 
said  that  in  every  path  of  natural  science  he  has,  at  some 
stage  of  his  career,  come  across  a  barrier  labeled,  "No 
thoroughfare.    Moses." 

The  two  principal  barriers,  somewhat  Mosaic  in  their 
character,  which  the  partisans  of  Shakespeare  have  erected 
to  protect  his  crown  of  authorship,  are  ''Genius"  and 
"Prescription."  Senator  Davis,  from  whom  quotations 
have  been  made,  an  orthodox  believer  in  Shakespeare, 
as  the  author,  but  who  seems  to  have  collated  some  of  the 
strongest  evidence  to  disprove  such  a  belief,  furnishes 
this  key  to  the  solution  of  the  question  which  naturally 
arises — Whence  comes  this  matchless  learning,  this  ac- 
curate and  thorough  professional  knowledge?  He  says 
that  "to  learn  must  have  been  easy  to  this  man,  whose 
"mental  endowments  were  so  universal  that  the  best  in- 
"tellects  of  after  times  have  vainly  attempted  to  ad- 
measure them."  But  this  explanation  seems  to  be  what, 
in  popular  language,  is  called  "begging  the  question,"  and 
solving  it  only  by  an  appeal  to  the  inspiration  of  genius, 
making  the  name  of  Shakespeare  a  sort  of  divine  pseudo- 


WAS  SHAKESPEARE  A  LAWYER.  95 

nym,  and  erecting  an  apotheosis  which  excludes  any  com- 
parative record  of  human  experience.  The  poet  is  said 
to  be  born,  but  not  the  orator  or  the  scholar.  Professional 
learning,  or  the  knowledge  of  foreign  languages,  has  never 
yet  come  through  plenary  inspiration,  and  there  has  never 
been  any  divine  impartation  of  knowledge,  except  to 
Him  who  shared  the  attributes  of  Divinity  itself. 

Ever  since  the  fatal  attempt  in  the  Garden  of  Eden  to 
acquire  knowledge  supernaturally,  all  human  experience 
has  proved  that  it  comes  to  mortals  only  through  the  un- 
inspired genius  of  work,  of  study  and  persistent  applica- 
tion. Genius  may  speculate  in  fundamental  truths,  or 
give  expression  to  the  infinitude  of  human  emotions  or 
aspirations,  but  it  cannot  impart  a  knowledge  of  particular 
facts  or  the  accurate  use  of  a  professional  terminology. 

Shakespeare  was  born  shortly  after  the  dawn  of  the 
renaissance  of  English  learning  and  literature,  but  learn- 
ing at  that  time  was  chiefly  confined  to  the  Universities 
and  to  a  privileged  few  in  some  of  the  metropolitan  cities. 
Dense  ignorance  prevailed  throughout  the  smaller  towns 
and  rural  districts.  It  is  recorded  that  recruits  for  the 
army  from  one  county  or  district  could  scarcely  under- 
stand the  dialect  of  those  from  another  part  of  the  coun- 
try, and  that  the  provincial  speech  of  a  member  of  Parlia- 
ment indicated  very  clearly  the  district  he  represented.  It 
was  half  a  century  before  stage  coaches  commenced  run- 
ning and  there  was  little  communication  between  different 
parts  of  the  kingdom.  When  Shakespeare  was  born  only 
six  of  the  nineteen  aldermen  of  Stratford  could  write 
their  names.    His  parents,  his  brothers,  and  nearly  all  of 


96  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

his  relatives,  signed  their  names  with  a  cross.  He  never 
became  sufficiently  interested  in  education  to  have  his 
own  children  taught  to  read  and  write,  and  his  favorite 
daughter  signed  her  marriage  bond  with  a  cross.  There 
were  probably  not  half  a  dozen  books  in  Stratford  besides 
the  Bible  and  a  few  elementary  school  books. 

Very  little  attention  was  paid  to  the  English  language, 
in  the  schools  of  that  day,  and  the  first  English  grammar 
was  not  published  until  after  Shakespeare  had  finished 
his  education,  if  anything  can  be  called  "finished"  that 
was  scarcely  ever  begun.  It  is  presumed  that  he  attended 
the  Stratford  school,  although  there  is  no  proof  of  the  fact. 
Its  curriculum  was  restricted  mainly  to  the  catechism  and 
some  elementary  studies  in  Latin  and  Greek.  If  writing 
and  spelling  were  taught  he  must  have  been  an  inapt 
scholar,  for  in  the  five  only  different  signatures  in  ex- 
istence, satisfactorily  known  to  have  been  made  by  him, 
he  spelled  his  name  in  three  different  ways,  and  in  the 
handwriting,  each  is  a  scrawl,  differing  from  the  others, 
and  resembling  a  series  of  disjointed  curleycues,  or  the 
tentative  efforts  of  a  six-year-old  school  boy.  These 
verified  specimens  and  the  erasures  and  interlineations 
contained  in  his  will  in  no  wise  correspond  with  the  state- 
ment of  Ben  Jonson  that  "he  was  often  told  by  the  play- 
ers that  whatsoever  the  author  of  the  plays  penned  he 
never  blotted  out  or  erased  a  line,"  nor  with  the  attesta- 
tion of  the  editors  of  the  First  Folio  that  "what  he  thought 
"he  uttered  with  that  easiness  that  we  have  scarce  re- 
ceived a  blot  in  his  papers." 


WAS  SHAKESPEARE  A  LAWYER.  97 

Shakespeare  was  deprived  of  further  education,  even 
in  such  a  school  as  this,  when  he  was  some  13  or  14  years 
of  age,  his  father's  misadventures  in  business  requiring  his 
assistance  in  the  support  of  the  family.  At  the  age  of  18 
he  married  a  damsel  eight  years  his  senior,  and  six  months 
afterwards  became  a  father.  There  is  no  anecdote  or 
tradition  that  he  exhibited  any  predilection  to  study  dur- 
ing his  youth,  or  that  he  showed  any  signs  of  latent 
genius,  except  the  one  first  related  by  Aubrey  some  fifty 
years  after  his  death,  that  "he  exercised  his  father's  trade 
"as  a  butcher,  and  when  he  killed  a  calf  he  would  make  a 
"speech  over  its  remains."  There  are  other  traditions  con- 
nected with  his  youth  less  to  his  credit  than  this.  But 
traditions  are  often  unreliable  and  of  little  consequence ; 
they  are  the  parasites  of  history,  but  often  cling  to  its 
pages  with  the  tenacity  of  established  facts. 

Whether  Shakespeare  left  Stratford,  at  the  age  of 
some  twenty  or  twenty-two  years,  to  avoid  the  conse- 
quences of  his  too  frequent  incursions  upon  the  domain  of 
Sir  Thomas  Lucy's  deer  park,  or  whether  he  left,  as  many 
a  lad  has  since, — 

"Yearning  for  the  large  excitement  that  the  coming  years  would 
yield. ' ' 

—  is  perhaps  immaterial  to  our  question.  He  found  em- 
ployment at  a  theater,  in  a  menial  capacity,  became  an 
actor,  and  after  a  few  years  part  proprietor  and  manager 
of  two  theaters,  accumulated  considerable  wealth  by  his 
energy  and  thrift,  sufficient  to  enable  him  to  retire  after 
some  twenty  years  and  become  a  landed  proprietor  at 
Stratford. 


98  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

At  the  time  of  his  advent  in  London  there  were  no 
circulating  libraries,  no  libraries  accessible  to  the  general 
public  of  any  kind,  in  fact ;  no  magazines,  reviews  or  news- 
papers. The  less  recent  biographers  of  Shakespeare,  to 
account  for  his  extensive  law  learning,  have  suggested 
that  he  must  at  some  time  have  been  a  lawyer's  clerk  or 
apprentice.  Justice  Campbell,  in  reply  to  an  inquiry  upon 
this  question  as  to  his  own  belief,  said:  "In  such  case,  it 
"might  have  been  reasonably  expected  that  there  would 
"have  been  deeds  or  wills  witnessed  by  him  still  extant, 
"and  after  a  very  diligent  search  none  such  have  been 
"discovered."  Mr.  White,  a  strenuous  believer  in  the 
Shakespeare  authorship,  as  well  as  one  of  his  most  learned 
critics,  says  that  "the  idea  of  his  having  been  clerk  to  an 
"attorney  has  been  blown  to  pieces." 

Another  eminent  writer  says: — "There  were  traditions 
''that  Shakespeare  had  been  apprenticed  to>  a  butcher,  but 
"of  Shakespeare  as  an  attorney  or  an  attorney's  ap- 
prentice, there  were  no  traditions  anywhere  among  the 
"plenitude  of  those  unearthed  by  the  microscopic  search  of 
"two  centuries." 

It  has  also  been  suggested  that  he  picked  up  his  knowl- 
edge of  law  by  visiting  the  courts,  and  listening  to  the 
lawyers  in  the  trial  of  causes.  If  such  a  suggestion  were 
not  too  absurd  to  require  consideration,  its  disproof  could 
easily  be  found  in  the  fact  that  the  author  uses  this  legal 
phraseology  just  as  fully  and  with  as  exact  a  knowledge 
in  the  early  plays,  written  shortly  after  he  came  to  Lon- 
don, as  are  displayed  in  his  later  works. 


WAS  SHAKESPEARE  A  LAWYER.  99 

Thrift  in  business  has  rarely  ever  been  allied  to  the 
habits  of  scholarship.  There  have  been  many  instances 
where  men  of  cultivated  tastes,  holding  sinecure  or  sal- 
aried positions,  or  engaged  in  other  business,  have 
achieved  literary  success,  but  there  is  no  other  recorded  or 
alleged  instance  in  the  history  of  the  world's  literature 
where  an  unlettered  man,  engaged  in  confining  and  ad- 
venturous business,  has  had  the  inclination  and  found  the 
time  to  produce  a  literary  masterpiece,  and  at  the  same 
time,  within  the  period  of  five  or  six  years,  acquire,  under 
the  most  inadequate  opportunities,  the  learning  that  is 
exhibited  in  one  of  Shakespeare's  plays.  In  the  records 
of  literature  there  is  no  parallel  case,  and  such  a  claim  has 
been  fitly  styled  "a  climax  of  reckless  guess-work  and 
"absurd  suggestion." 

An  eminent  text  writer  on  the  law  of  evidence  says : 
"When  each  of  a  number  of  independent  circumstances,  or 
"combination  of  circumstances,  tends  to  the  same  conelu- 
"sion,  the  probability  of  the  truth  of  the  fact  is  necessarily 
"greatly  increased  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  those 
"independent  circumstances."  Aside  from  the  "Genius" 
theory  almost  the  sole  independent  or  collateral  circum- 
stance relied  upon  to  sustain  the  claim  that  Shakespeare 
was  the  author  of  the  poems  and  plays  bearing  his  name 
is  the  fact  that  during  his  lifetime  a  portion  of  the  plays 
and  the  poems  were  published  under  his  accredited  author- 
ship,— an  authorship  which  he  neither  ever  publicly  ad- 
mitted or  denied, — and  which  with  certain  additional  plays 
have  since  continued  to  be  published  as  the  product  of 
his  fertile  brain ;  and  to  assail  this  apparent  stronghold  of 


100  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

prescriptive  rights  is  always  looked  upon  by  his  partisans 
with  disapproving  apprehension.  But  the  publication  of  a 
poem  or  a  book,  bearing  on  its  title  page  the  name  of  its 
purported  author,  would  not  have  borne  in  Shakespeare's 
time  the  same  prima  facie  evidence  of  authorship  as  it 
would  at  the  present  time.  The  law  protecting  an  author's 
rights  in  the  products  of  his  pen  was  then  very  inefficient. 
Authors  frequently  sold  their  productions  to  printers  or 
publishers,  who  appear  to  have  taken  the  privilege  of  alter- 
ing or  abridging  them,  or  of  affixing  to  them  any  name 
as  author  which  they  deemed  might  increase  the  sale  of 
the  same.  The  Stationers'  Company,  under  a  charter 
from  the  crown,  had  the  right  of  receiving  and  register- 
ing papers  and  books  in  the  name  of  the  proprietor,  after 
which  it  was  intended  it  should  be  illegal  for  any  one  else 
to  publish  them.  "Many  of  the  Shakespeare  plays  were 
so  registered,  but  none  of  them  by  him,  or  by  any  one  on 
his  account,  but  by  persons  between  whom  and  himself 
no  connection  has  been  shown  to  exist." 

Some  eight  or  ten  years  after  Shakespeare's  arrival  in 
London  one  Jaggard  printed  a  collection  of  poems  by 
various  known  and  unknown  writers,  called  "The  Pas- 
sionate Pilgrim,"  with  Shakespeare's  name  as  the  author. 

It  contained  fragments  of  verse  by  Hey  wood,  Mar- 
lowe, Griffin  and  others.  Heywood  recognized  his  own 
poems  and  protested  against  the  manner  of  the  publica- 
tion, "but  they  continued  to  travel  under  Shakespeare's 
name  for  fourteen  years"  until  his  name  was  removed 
upon  the  publication  of  the  3d  edition ;  and,  as  Mr.  White 


WAS  SHAKESPEARE  A  LAWYER.         101 

says,  "there  is  no  evidence  that  any  public  protest  or  de- 
nial on  Shakespeare's  part  ever  existed." 

During  Shakespeare's  life  time  in  London  there  were 
published  and  assigned  to  him  no  less  than  fourteen  dif- 
ferent plays,  some  of  which  were  produced  at  his  own 
theater,  and  none  of  which  he  ever  wrote,  or  repudiated, 
and  most  of  which  are  now  contained  among  the  works 
of  his  distinguished  contemporaries.  The  author  of  "De- 
throning Shakespeare"  says  that  "nine  of  the  thirty- 
"seven  Shakespeare  plays  were  never  heard  of  until  he 
"had  been  dead  seven  years,  when  they  were  published 
"in  the  Folio  of  1623,  with  emendations  by  a  master  hand. 
"Eighteen  had  never  been  printed  before,  and  four  so  ar- 
ranged and  developed  as  to  be  practically  new.  'Titus 
"Andronicus/  'Romeo  and  Juliet,'  'Richard  II.,'  'Richard 
"III.,"  the  first  part  of  'Henry  IV.,'  the  second  and  third 
"parts  of  'Henry  VI. /  were  originally  brought  out  with- 
"out  any  author's  name  at  all  on  the  title  page.  Several 
"editions  of  the  poems,  and  certain  of  the  plays  were  pub- 
lished before   1616   (the  year  of  Shakespeare's  death), 

"twenty-seven  of  which  had  no  author's  name  on  the  title 

<i„ >} 

page. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  great  author  who  has  not 
at  some  time  written  lovingly  of  the  haunts  of  his  boy- 
hood, and  sketched  in  song  or  story  the  graphic  picture  of 
his  early  home.  The  author  of  the  brilliant  article  upon 
Shakespeare  in  the  Encyclopedia  Britannica,  "written  with 
the  graces  of  a  poem,  and  the  infidelities  of  a  romance," 
speaking  of  Shakespeare's  return  to  Stratford,  says: 
"He  had  loved  the  country  with  ardent  enthusiasm  in  his 


102  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

"youth,  when  all  nature  was  lighted  with  the  dawn  of  ris- 
"ing  passion  and  kindled  imagination."  Yet  nowhere  in 
his  voluminous  works  is  the  name  of  "Stratford"  men- 
tioned, while  it  is  a  significant  fact  that  "St.  Albans,"  the 
home  of  Bacon,  is  said  to  be  mentioned  no  less  than  twen- 
ty-three times.  In  1596  when  poems  and  plays  were  being 
published  under  his  name,  Shakespeare  experienced  prob- 
ably the  greatest  sorrow  of  his  life  in  the  loss  of  his  only 
son  Hamnet,  then  nearly  12  years  old.  At  a  date  not  far 
remote  Ben  Jonson,  who  is  said  to  have  been  of  a  more 
rugged  nature  than  "the  gentle  Shakespeare,"  experienced 
a  similar  bereavement  and  "mourned  in  sweet  and  saddest 
verse"  the  death  of  his  darling  boy.  Burns  addressed  his 
sweetest  song  to  "Mary  in  Heaven,"  and  Tennyson  wrote 
his  most  finished  poem  in  memoriam  of  the  friend  of  his 
youth.  Yet  Shakespeare,  who  could  touch  with  a  master's 
hand  every  note  upon  the  lyre  of  pathos  or  tragedy,  and 
who,  we  are  told,  unveiled  in  his  sonnets  the  innermost 
sentiments  of  his  heart,  made  no  call  upon  his  muse  for 
relief  or  expression,  and  this  "sorrow's  crown  of  sorrow" 
remained  unsung.  If  the  Shakespeare  of  Stratford  was 
the  Shakepeare  of  the  plays,  the  record  of  his  life  in  Lon- 
don was  parenthetical  in  character,  and  incompatible  with 
the  history  of  his  life  in  Stratford.  He  goes  up  to  Lon- 
don from  a  bookless  neighborhood,  uncouth  and  illiterate, 
speaking  the  Warwickshire  dialect,  with  a  limited  vocabu- 
lary, and  shortly  afterwards  there  appears  a  poem  with  his 
name  upon  the  title  page  as  author,  written  in  the  purest 
and  most  refined  English,  based  upon  a  classical  allegory, 
prefaced  with  a  quotation  from  Ovid,  and  not  containing 


WAS  SHAKESPEARE  A  LAWYER.         103 

one  word  of  his  native  dialect ;  and  this  is  followed  by- 
dramas  exhibiting  scholarship  which  would  ordinarily 
demand  a  lifetime  to  acquire,  and  which  still  live  among 
the  most  illustrious  of  "the  immortal  children  of  genius 
and  learning."  After  some  twenty  years  he  returns  to 
Stratford,  the  same  William  Shakespeare  of  former  days, 
skilled  indeed  in  the  ways  of  money  making,  possesssed, 
perhaps,  of  some  of  that  polish  of  manners,  worldly  wis- 
dom and  bonhomie  which  come  from  the  contact  with 
frequenters  of  the  theaters,  and  possibly  of  the  clubs,  but 
still  unlettered  and  unlearned,  and  engages  in  the  prosaic 
occupation  of  a  grain  dealer,  maltster  and  money  lender. 
Charles  the  V.  abdicated  the  throne  of  the  greatest  empire 
of  the  world,  but  he  carried  with  him  into  his  cloistral  re- 
treat some  of  the  evidences  of  his  imperial  character  and 
history.  Shakespeare,  enthroned  as  "the  monarch  of  the 
world's  literature,"  abandoned  his  stately  eminence,  but 
he  carried  with  him  to  his  Warwickshire  grange  not  one 
of  the  princely  graces  of  genius  or  learning.  If,  as  the 
editors  of  the  Folio  state,  "what  he  thought  he  uttered 
"with  that  easiness  that  we  have  scarce  received  a  blot  in 
"his  papers,"  is  it  not  surprising  that  "the  microscopic 
search  of  two  centuries"  has  not  discovered  some  business 
letter,  some  letter  to  a  literary  friend,  some  play,  or  poem, 
or  sonnet,  or  verse,  or  line,  known  to  have  been  written 
by  him  during  the  eight  years  of  his  life  after  returning 
to  Stratford?  What  author  of  ancient  or  modern  times, 
having  achieved  distinction  in  the  literary  world,  or  felt 
the  pleasing  thrill  of  authorship,  has  ever,  at  the  age  of 
forty-four  years,  smothered  the  children  of  his  productive 


104  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

brain,  and  laid  aside  his  pen,  and  never  afterwards  written 

a  single  line  either  for  recreation  or  pecuniary  reward? 

If  he  was  the  genius  it  is  claimed,  it  was  not  because  he 

did  not  appreciate  the  worth  of  his  own  productions,  since 

in  one  of  his  sonnets  he  had  written : 

"Not  marble,  nor  the  gilded  monuments 

"Of  princes,  shall  outlive  this  powerful  rhyme; 

"But  you  shall  shine  more  bright  in  these  contents 

"Than  unswept  stone  besmeared  with  sluttish  time. 

"When  wasteful  war  shall  statutes  overturn, 

"And  broils  root  out  the  work  of  masonry, 

"Nor  Mars  his  sword,  nor  war's  quick  fire  shall  burn 

"The  living  record  of  your  memory." 

During  this  parenthetical  or  London  period  of  his  life 
Shakespeare  sketched,  in  stately  verse,  the  portraits  of 
several  female  characters,  which,  for  graceful  charm  and 
beauty,  are  unmatched  by  artist's  brush  or  poet's  pen. 
The  only  tribute  he  appears  to  have  rendered  to  woman 
after  his  return  to  Stratford  was  to  bequeath  in  his  will 
to  the  wife  of  his  youth  his  "second  best  bed."  He  made 
no  mention  in  his  will  of  any  literary  property,  nor  of  any 
book,  nor  copy  of  his  own  books,  nor  of  any  manuscript, 
though  the  dramas  of  "Macbeth,"  "The  Tempest,"  "Julius 
Caesar"  and  several  others  were  at  that  time  unpublished. 

A  recent  writer,  speaking  of  the  supernatural  in 
Shakespeare,  says  that  "Shakespeare  himself  is  the  most 
supernatural  thing  in  Shakespeare."  That  this  extensive 
learning,  this  "boundless  fertility  and  labored  condensa- 
tion of  thought"  should  have  come  to  him,  while  caged  in 
the  box  office  of  the  Globe  or  Blackfriars  Theater,  as  song 
comes  to  the  bird,  can  seemingly  be  explained  only  upon 
the  supposition  that  a  miracle  was  enacted  in  the  realm 


WAS  SHAKESPEARE  A  LAWYER.  105 

of  literature  during  the  close  of  the  16th  century  no  less 
astonishing  than  when  Minerva  sprang  "full  armed  from 
the  head  of  Jove,"  miraculously  endowed  with  super- 
natural wisdom  to  become  the  counselor  of  gods  and  men. 

In  a  recently  published  volume,  written  in  the  form  of 
a  charge  to  a  jury,  and  entitled  "A  Judicial  Summing  Up," 
upon  the  Shakespeare-Bacon  controversy,  by  Lord  Pen- 
zance, who  for  many  years  was  a  distinguished  English 
jurist,  reference  is  made  to  these  dual  characteristics  as 
exhibited  in  his  Stratford  and  London  life  as  follows : 

"What  a  miracle  then  is  this  that  the  defendants  would 
"present  to  us.  The  butcher's  apprentice  transformed  at 
"short  notice  into  the  philosopher  and  poet.  Why,  it  is  al- 
"mO'St  contrary  to  nature.  Well,  to  be  sure,  the  grub 
"turns  into  the  butterfly,  and  is  not  long  about  it,  but  who- 
mever heard  of  the  butterfly  turning  back  again  into  the 
"grub?  Yet  nothing  less  than  this  is  offered  to  our  be- 
lief. From  the  moment  he  got  back  to  Stratford  he 
"dropped  his  butterfly  wings — tilling  his  own  land,  wholly 
"occupied  in  the  making  and  selling  of  malt,  and  other 
"agricultural  pursuits.  If  it  was  difficult  to  believe  in 
"William  Shakespeare's  transformation,  it  is  harder  still 
"to  give  credit  to  his  relapse." 

The  time  allowed  me  precludes  any  attempt  to  allude 
to  the  proofs  concerning  the  real  author,  or  authors,  of  the 
Shakespeare  works.  That  is  perhaps  a  subordinate  ques- 
tion to  the  one  here  discussed,  and  would  require  the  in- 
dulgence of  another  paper.  The  known  facts  of  his  life 
and  character,  the  conditions  of  literary  production,  the 
internal  evidence  of  the  poems  and  plays  themselves,  seem 


106  PH AXIOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

to  form  a  structure  of  circumstantial  proof,  not  easily 
shaken,  that  Shakespeare  was  neither  a  lawyer  nor  an 
author,  and  the  complement  of  such  evidence  that  another 
was  the  real  author  is  doubtless  as  strong-  as  that  Shakes- 
peare was  not ;  and  should  the  question  ever  be  submitted 
to  an  unbiased  tribunal  for  decision,  Shakespeare  unques- 
tionably, as  a  plaintiff,  would  be  non-suited,  or,  as  the 
defendant,  be  dispossessed  of  his  crown  of  authorship. 
But  whether  it  should  be  confirmed  in  Shakespeare,  or 
awarded  to  Bacon,  or  wholly  or  in  part  to  other  distin- 
guished dramatists  of  the  Shakespearean  era,  the  decree 
would  in  no  way  detract  from  the  sublimity  of  the  works 
themselves,  as  it  makes  little  difference  to  the  world 
whether  they  are  the  product  of  one  mind,  or 

"Of  minds  so  various  that  they  seem  to  be 
Not  one  but  all  mankind's  epitome." 

They  will  remain  through  the  ages  as  the  most  mar- 
velous product  of  the  genius  of  human  thought  and  ex- 
pression. If,  as  has  been  suggested,  the  traditional  peb- 
bles in  the  mouth  of  Demosthenes  were  passages  frorh  the 
Greek  classics,  declaimed  by  the  Athenian  orator  to  the 
surging  waves  by  "the  shores  of  the  far  sounding  sea," 
passages  from  Shakespeare  are  as  jewels  in  comparison. 
So  long  as  language  shall  be  spoken  by  cultivated  races  of 
men  they  will  mould  the  thought  and  shape  the  diction  of 
authors,  poets  and  orators  ;  and  as  dramas  upon  the  stage 
they  will  command  the  enduring  distinction  of  always  pre- 
senting the  author  as  greater  than  the  actor.  In  alluding 
to  this  quality  and  to  the  inefficiency  of  any  actor  to  fix 
attention    upon    himself    while    uttering    Shakespeare's 


WAS  SHAKESPEARE  A  LA  WYER.         1  07 

words,  Emerson,  in  what  Mr.  E.  P.  Whipple  pronounced 
to  be  the  best  prose  sentence  ever  written  on  this  side  of 
the  Atlantic,  says :  "The  recitation  begins,  one  golden 
"word  leaps  out  immortal  from  all  this  painted  pedantry 
"and  szvectly  torments  as  with  invitations  to  its  own  in- 
" accessible  homes." 


ONE  OF  THE  MARVELS    OF  CRE- 
ATION. 


By  Gerry  W.  Hazelton. 

In  the  art  galleries  of  Amsterdam  and  Rotterdam  one 
finds  a  surprisingly  large  number  of  portraits,  both  indi- 
vidual and  in  groups ;  not  of  distinguished  persons  par- 
ticularly, but  of  the  common  burghers,  men  of  local  promi- 
nence, officials  of  municipal  governments,  in  cities  where 
such  positions  can  be  held  without  dishonor.  The  faces 
are  strongly  marked  by  national  characteristics — large, 
rubicund,  good-natured,  but  showing  the  intelligence  and 
strength  and  poise  of  a  governing  race.  They  are  faces 
which  win  your  confidence  at  sight.  It  is  a  pleasure  to 
study  them,  and  to  note  how  obviously  they  illustrate  and 
corroborate  historic  data.  They  explain  the  place  the 
nation  has  won  for  itself  in  the  development  and  progress 
of  Christian  civilization.  But  one  cannot  fail  to  perceive 
that  while  these  faces  have  much  in  common,  each  has  its 
own  individuality. 

And  this  suggests  the  almost  incomprehensible  fact 
that,  of  all  the  countless  millions  of  human  faces  created 
in  the  tide  of  time,  no  two  have  been  or  are  alike ;  con- 
structed upon  the  same  model,  after  the  same  general 
plan,  yet  each  distinct  and  readily  distinguishable  from  all 
the  others.     In  some  instances,  it  is  true,  the  family  like- 

109 


110  PHAXTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

ness  may  be  striking-,  the  child  may  resemble  father  or 
mother,  or  in  some  particulars  a  combination  of  both ;  or 
the  family  group  as  a  whole  may  display  marked  family 
characteristics ;  but  to  the  intelligent  observer  each  face 
has  an  individuality  of  its  own. 

But  at  the  same  time  it  is  due  to  say  that  remarkable 
examples  of  resemblance  between  persons  who  bear  no 
family  relation  are  frequently  seen.  We  meet  persons  on 
the  street,  and  in  our  travels,  who  remind  us  instantly 
of  some  one  we  know.  Many  a  man  has  his  double. 
The  brilliant  Chauncey  has  his.  The  late  General  Logan 
had  his,  who  assured  me  in  the  most  comforting  wax- 
that  scores  of  people  had  made  the  same  mistake  I  made, 
many  of  them  well  acquainted  with  both  the  general  and 
himself.  Criminal  statistics  furnish  many  surprising  in- 
stances of  confusion  of  faces, — carried  even  to  the  extent 
of  conviction  and  punishment.  I  dare  say  each  of  us 
could  contribute  to  a  chapter  on  the  subject  of  mistaken 
identity.  I  was  myself  once  mistaken  for  an  eminent 
divine ;  but  as  the  car  im  which  it  happened  was  not  very 
brilliantly  lighted,  and  the  only  person  who  had  the  right 
to  complain  was  not  present,  nothing  serious  ever  came 
of  it. 

One  of  Mr.  Hale's  most  amusing  stories  bears  the 
title,  "My  Double  and  How  He  Undid  Me."  Everything 
went  on  very  smoothly  till  the  young  clergyman's  double 
was  unexpectedly  called  upon  to  address  the  waiting 
audience  in  a  case  where  the  published  speakers  failed  to 
respond.  The  audience  became  impatient  and  the  double, 
who  had  been  required  to  memorize  two  short  speeches, 


A  MARVEL  OF  CREATION.  1 1 1 

having  been  literally  forced  to  the  front,  shouted:  "I 
agree  with  the  gentleman  on  the  other  side  of  the  hall !" 
and  when,  in  response  to  an  uproarious  encore,  he  was 
forced  to  deliver  the  second  of  his  speeches,  he  shouted 
again:  "So  much  has  already  been  said,  and  on  the 
whole  so  well  said,  that  I  shall  not  detain  you  with  any 
further  remarks."  This  was  too  much;  the  double  was 
glad  to  beat  a  precipitate  retreat  from  the  stage,  and  to 
escape  from  the  building  by  a  side  door;  and  the  next 
morning  the  clergyman's  residence  was  vacant,  and  his 
people  never  saw  him  after. 

But  in  all  these  cases  the  illusion  would  have  been  dis- 
pelled could  the  parties  have  been  seen  side  by  side. 

It  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  remarkable  facts 
of  which  we  have  knowledge  that  the  face  should  bear 
such  relation  to  the  mind  as  to  mirror  every  emotion  and 
interpret  every  important  experience.  It  is  true,  the 
great  Poet  says :  "There  is  no  art  to  read  the  mind's  con- 
struction in  the  face;"  but  in  another  place  he  says: 
"Your  face,  my  thane,  is  as  a  book  where  men  may  read 
strange  matters."  "That  same  face  of  yours,"  says  Colley 
Cibber,  "looks  like  the  title-page  to  a  whole  volume  of 
roguery."  "The  countenance."  says  Mathews,  "may  be 
rightly  defined  as  the  title-page  which  heralds  the  contents 
of  the  human  volume." 

There  are  faces  so  stolid  as  scarcely  to  indicate  any 
relation  to  a  resident  intelligence ;  there  are  agreeable 
faces  which  conceal  badness ;  there  are  Jekylls  which 
mask  a  Air.  Hyde ;  but  these  are  the  exceptions.  In  every 
normal  and  healthy  organization,  the  electric  current  be- 


112  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

tween  emotion  and  expression  is  unmistakable,  and  r     \  - 
true. 

Some  one  has  said  that  man  is  the  only  animal  that 
laughs,  but  laughter  is  only  a  mode  of  expressing  emo- 
tion. The  mind  laughed  first,  the  face  responded.  Scorn, 
contempt,  disgust,  are  as  sure  to  find  utterance  in  the  face 
as  the  growing  grain  to  answer  to  the  summer  wind. 
You  sit  at  the  dinner  table  with  your  guests.  Mirth  and 
happiness  rule  the  hour,  while  jokes,  possibly  more  an- 
cient than  the  ale,  go  round.  Every  face  is  beaming. 
Suddenly  a  messenger  is  announced.  Some  well  known 
friend  has  met  with  a  dangerous  accident.  The  expres- 
sion on  every  face  instantly  changes.  Sorrow,  sympathy, 
regret  have  taken  possession.  The  shock  to  sensibi! 
has  found  expression  in  every  countenance. 

Can  any  one  mistake  the  emotions  of  happiness,  mirth, 
joy,  affection,  for  their  opposites,  as  reflected  in  the  coun- 
tenance? If  it  be  true  that  the  cynic,  the  misanthrope,  the 
grumbler,  the  clown,  the  animal,  cannot  wholly  conceal 
his  identity,  it  is  pleasant  and  inspiring  to  reflect  that  the 
face  responds  quite  as  distinctly  to  the  dominance  of  a 
praiseworthy  life  and  ennobling  sentiments. 

Even  the  mimicry  of  the  stage  is  suggestive.  The  face 
of  Joe  Jefferson  in  the  Rivals,  when  Billy  Florence  as 
''Sir  Lucius"  was  trying  to  inspire  him  with  courage  for 
the  field  of  honor,  was  a  picture  never  to  be  forgotten. 
In  fact,  the  absolute  lack  of  courage  was  not  only  ap- 
parent in  the  face,  but  in  every  part  of  his  anatomy. 

When  Emerson,  whose  versatile  and  cultured  mind 
had  partially  given  way,  and  whose  memory  had  become 


A  MARVEL  OF  CREATION.  113 

a  blank,  was  taken  to  the  funeral  service  of  Longfellow, 

whom  he  had  known  so  well,  he  was  among  the  last  to 

take  a  farewell  look  at  the  face  of  his  much-loved  friend. 

He  remained  beside  the  casket  for  some  minutes,  as  if 

struggling  to  recall  some  halting,  faltering  recollection, 

till  he  was  taken  away.     It  was  a  pathetic  scene,  which 

caused  many  eyes  to  moisten.     On  the  way  home,  he 

said  to  his  companion:    "That  was  a  beautiful  face,  but 

I  cannot  remember  where  I  have  seen  it."    Doubtless  the 

face  warranted  the  comment,  and  doubtless  the  face  was 

the  sequence  of  the  life.    And  here,  among  the  trees  and 

flowers  and  birds,  on  this  ideal  summer  day,  may  we 

not  pause  for  a  moment  and  indulge  the  harmless  fancy 

that  the  gifted  singer,  whose   face  Emerson  could  not 

recall,  saw  in  prophetic  vision  a  picture  like  this  before 

us,  when  he  wrote : 

"Through  every  fibre  of  my  brain, 
Through  every  nerve,  through  every  vein, 
I  feel  the  electric  thrill,  the  touch 
Of  Life  that  seems  almost  too  much. 

"I  hear  the  wind  among  the  trees 
Playing  celestial  harmonies, 
I  see  the  branches  downward  bent, 
Like  keys  of  some  great  instrument. 

"And  over  me  unrolls  on  high 
The  splendid  scenery  of  the  sky, 
Where,  through  a  sapphire  sea,  the  sun 
Sails  like  a  golden  galleon." 

The  human  face  is  moreover,  one  of  the  few  things 
of  which  we  never  grow  tired.  Indeed  it  becomes  more 
engaging  and  attractive  on  acquaintance,  if  the  individual 
interest  us.     We  tire  of  paintings,  and  statuary  and  the 


1  14  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

choicest  works  of  art.  That  is  to  say,  our  sense  of  pleas- 
ure becomes  satiated  after  a  time,  and  we  turn  away.  The 
visitor  at  the  Louvre,  after  a  few  hours  spent  in  one  or 
two  of  the  departments,  finds  his  power  of  admiration  re- 
laxed, and  voluntarily  retires  from  the  enchanting  feast, 
till  his  exhausted  nerves  have  had  time  to  rest  and  re- 
cuperate. 

But  one  does  not  grow  tired  of  the  face.  The  type, 
the  endless  variety,  the  peculiarities  of  structure  and  ex- 
pression, never  fail  to  awaken  interest.  In  the  family,  in 
society,  in  business,  this  fact  finds  constant  illustration. 
The  public  speaker  draws  inspiration  from  the  sea  of 
upturned  faces — they  never  tire  him.  It  is  unthinkable 
that  an  audience  should  face  the  exit  instead  of  the  plat- 
form— at  least  when  the  speaker  begins ! 

One  of  the  most  delightful  pictures  one  ever  sees  is 
the  faces  of  a  group  of  wholesome,  happy  children.  The 
person  whose  sensibilities  are  not  touched  by  such  a 
picture  is  hopelessly  bad. 

Some  years  since,  in  going  from  the  English  Lakes  to 
Edinburgh,  I  stopped  on  the  way  to  visit  Melrose  Abbey, 
a  picturesque  ruin  visited  by  thousands  of  travelers 
every  summer.  I  found  here,  among  other  articles  on 
sale,  a  picture  of  Sir  Walter,  the  great  Wizard  of  the 
North,  representing  him  as  he  looked  when  a  young  man 
perhaps  thirty  years  of  age.  It  was  a  face  of  rare  beauty, 
combining  intellectual  strength  with  marked  delicacy,  re- 
finement and  sweetness  of  expression.  It  furnished  an 
explanation  of  the  marvellous  social  and  personal  at- 
tractiveness which  gave  him  such  a  following  in  Scot- 


A  MARVEL  OF  CREATION.  1 1  5 

land  and  elsewhere.  It  was  a  face  to  excite  admiration 
and  love. 

At  Abbotsford,  in  the  same  vicinity,  I  saw  a  bust  of 
the  same  individual  made  from  a  death  mask,  which  was 
without  exception  the  saddest  face  I  ever  saw.  It  looked 
like  the  incarnation  of  a  sob.  It  was  difficult  to  think  of 
these  counterfeit  presentments  as  belonging  to  the  same 
person.  One  represented  a  soul  beaming  with  happiness 
and  hope ;  the  other  a  soul  under  the  weight  of  domestic 
sorrow  and  financial  trials  which  sent  him  broken-hearted 
to  his  grave.  Possibly  a  less  sensitive  nature  might  have 
met  adversity  and  affliction  with  greater  fortitude ;  but  it  is 
to  be  observed  that  a  less  sensitive  nature  might  not  have 
produced  the  charming  pages  over  which  the  world 
loves  to  linger. 

The  face  is  the  prime  factor  in  all  our  social  relations. 
It  is  the  facile  servant  of  the  mind.  It  is  the  throne  of 
intelligence ;  the  medium  of  fellowship.  By  it  we  are 
identified.  By  it  we  are  remembered.  Through  it  the 
soul  shines.  It  is  the  face  which  saddens  when  we  part, 
and  gladdens  when  we  meet.  The  picture  we  carry  in  our 
thought  when  some  loved  friend  is  absent  is  not  of  the 
figure,  however  comely,  but  of  the  face.  It  is  the  face 
which  is  lighted  up  with  a  smile  and  hallowed  by  a  tear. 

Do  these  faces,  which  bear  such  intimate,  such  subtle 
relations  to  the  soul,  these  faces  which  we  cherish  and 
love,  go  out  one  by  one,  and  lose  themselves  in  the  bound- 
less ocean  of  oblivion?  Let  us  think  otherwise.  Let  us 
hope,  at  least,  that  "some  day,  some  time,  our  eyes  shall 
see  the  faces  kept  in  memory." 


116  PH  AXIOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

The  eighteenth  century,  it  is  said,  produced  more  dis- 
tinctively great  men  than  any  other  in  history.  It  gave 
the  world  a  Burke,  a  Fox,  a  Pitt,  a  Grattan,  a  Welling- 
ton, a  Humboldt,  a  Napoleon,  on  the  other  side ;  and 
Washington,  Franklin,  Hamilton,  Jefferson,  Marshall  and 
Webster  on  this.  What  a  group  of  faces,  could  they  be 
seen  together ! 

The  artist  who  devotes  his  talent  to  caricaturing  the 
human  countenance — one  of  the  distinct  marvels  of  crea- 
tion— should  be  consigned  to  a  place  of  his  own.  He 
has  no  claim  whatever  to  rank  with  artists  who  work  out 
their  designs  without  malice  and  without  indifference  to 
the  feelings  of  others.  The  distance  between  the  yellow 
journal  artist  and  a  Hogarth  or  a  Whistler  who  has  con- 
tributed to  the  genuine  happiness  of  mankind  is  too  great 
for  measurement. 

The  habit  Thackeray  had  of  decorating  his  private 
correspondence  with  pen  pictures  of  imaginary  faces  has 
always  interested  his  admirers.  It  is  delightful  to  think 
of  this  great  master  of  Romance  diverting  himself  with 
these  amusing  drolleries.  It  brings  him  nearer  to  us,  and 
we  can  easily  fancy  a  smile  on  his  own  face  as  he  glanced 
at  the  products  of  his  pen,  never  thinking  they  would 
be  lovingly  preserved  and  cherished  through  the  cen- 
turies, simply  because  they  came  from  the  same  hand 
which  wrote  "Henry  Esmond"  and  "Vanity  Fair." 

The  genius  who  discovered  a  method  of  making  sun- 
pictures  was  a  greater  benefactor  than  he  knew.  The 
sun  is  a  faithful  artist ;  and  the  best  of  it  is,  he  is  the 
servant  of  the  common  people.     He  produces  the  truest 


A  MARVEL  OF  CREATION.  1 1  7 

pictures  at  the  smallest  cost.  I  venture  to  affirm  there  is 
not  a  gentleman  present  who  could  not  find,  in  some  dark 
closet  or  some  old  drawer,  a  basketful  of  these  pictures, 
taken  at  every  stage  of  development  from  callow  youth 
to  mature  age.  I  fancy.  I  can  guess  when  the  first  one 
was  obtained ;  it  was  after  you  had  "spoken  your  piece" 
at  the  district  school  examination,  and  the  folks  at  home 
had  got  the  impression  that  a  second  Daniel  had  come 
to  judgment,  and  gave  you  a  dollar  to  pay  for  a  daguerre- 
otype !  You  may  have  spoken  to  larger  audiences  and 
on  more  august  occasions  since,  or  you  may  have  won 
fame  and  wealth  and  success  in  your  varied  callings ; 
but  you  have  never  been  prouder  or  happier  than  on  that 
occasion ! 

"Ah  happy  years !   Once  more  who  would  not  be  a  boy !" 

But  one  cannot  help  regretting  that  the  discovery  of 
sun-pictures  had  not  come  a  few  centuries  earlier,  that 
we  might  have  the  satisfaction  of  looking  at  the  faces 
of  our  remote  ancestors !  It  might  make  us  laugh  or 
grieve.  All  the  same  I  am  sure  we  would  like  to  know 
how  our  great-great-great-grandmothers  looked !  Ob- 
viously we  never  shall.  But  there  is  one  face  not  so  dis- 
tantly related,  which  is  indelibly  pictured  on  the  walls  of 
memory.  It  is  the  most  interesting  face  and  the  dearest 
we  have  ever  known.  It  is  interwoven  like  a  golden 
strand  with  all  the  events  and  scenes  and  memories  of 
early  life.  It  is  associated  with  unwearied  devotion  and 
solicitude  and  with  love  which  knew  no  limitations.  It 
is,  moreover,  linked  with  precepts  of  wisdom  and  duty 


1  18  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

which  have  exerted  an  influence  on  character  and  on  life. 
Each  of  us  can  see  that  face,  as  I  read  these  lines,  lighted 
up  with  the  same  kindly  smile  that  was  so  familiar  in  the 
long  ago !  And  under  its  spell  are  we  not  ready  to  affirm 
that,  as  of  old,  so  now,  the  holiest  thing  on  earth,  and 
the  sweetest,  is  love? 


APPENDIX. 


Mukwonago,  Wis.,  Oct.  26,  1894. 
John  R.  Goodrich,  Esq. 

My  Dear  Sir  :  Thanks  for  the  papers  you  so  kindly  sent 
me,  giving  a  pleasant  sketch  of  your  outing  trip  to  Waukesha, 
Phantom  Lake  and  "Pottawatamie,"  when  you  were  so  kind 
as  to  give  me  so  pleasant  and  agreeable  a  visit,  only  too  short. 
I  hope  we  may  live  to  have  it  repeated  next  year.  "So  mote 
it  be!" 

In  haste,  Yours  truly. 

John  F.  Potter. 


II. 

East  Troy,  Wis.,  Sept.  26,  1895. 
John  R.  Goodrich,  Esq. 

My  Dear  Sir  :  Tour  very  kind  letter  of  the  24th,  inviting 
myself  and  daughters,  in  behalf  of  the  Phantom  Club,  to  visit 
Milwaukee,  and  to  be  present  at  a  dinner  of  the  Club  on  the 
1st  or  2nd  of  October,  came  to  hand  yesterday.  I  need  not 
say  that,  were  it  possible,  it  would  give  me  very  great  pleasure 
to  again  meet  my  friends  of  the  Club  on  that  occasion.  But 
it  is  physically  impossible.  I  am  scarcely  able  to  get  out  of 
doors  now,  and  am  more  feeble  than  I  have  ever  been  before. 
I  have  been  able  to  ride  out  but  once  the  past  summer,  and 
then  only  for  a  mile  or  two.  Thanking  you  with  all  my 
heart  for  your  kind  invitation,  and  with  much  regret  that  I 
cannot  accept  it,  I  am  very  gratefully, 

Tours,  John  F.  Potter. 


120  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

in. 

East  Troy,  Wis.,  May  17,  1896. 
Messrs.  John  R.  Goodrich,  John  Johnston,  and  the  Members  of 

l lie  Phantom  Club: 

Though  under  the  necessity  of  using  a  pencil,  which  ray 
present  inconvenient  limitations  impose,  I  cannot  refrain  from 
acknowledging,  even  if  in  a  few  words,  your  most  kind  and 
generous  remembrance  of  me  on  my  seventy-ninth  birthday. 

I  thank  you  with  a  full  heart  for  the  beautiful  offering  of 
magnificent  roses  which  came  with  your  expression  of  kindly 
regard.  To  each  one  of  the  members  of 'the  club  I  give  my 
most  hearty  and  sincere  thanks,  and  assure  them  that  nothing 
could  have  been  more  grateful  to  my  feelings  in  my  old  age 
than  this  token  of  your  kindness. 

Most  sincerely  and  gratefully  yours. 

John  F.  Potter. 


IV. 

Milwaukee,  May  11,  1897. 

"We  have  known  times  call  loudly  enough  for  their  great 
man,"  says  Carlyle,  "but  not  find  him  when  they  called ;  he 
was  not  there;  Providence  had  not  sent  him;  the  time,  calling 
its  loudest,  had  to  go  down  in  confusion  and  wreck,  because  he 
would  not  come  when  called." 

In  our  own  country,  more  than  a  generation  ago,  there  was 
a  time  which  called  for  leaders,  and,  thank  God !  they  came. 
They  were  heroes,  who  risked  fortune  and  life  in  valiant  battle 
for  the  right.  They  vanquished  arrogant  Wrong,  and  they 
reconstructed  our  political  institutions  upon  the  broad  basis 
of  absolute  justice  and  universal  human  freedom. 

One  of  those  leaders,  whom  Wisconsin  is  proud  to  claim  as 
especially  her  own,  survives  to-day.  and  the  members  of  the 


APPENDIX.  1 2 1 

Phantom  Club,  delighting  to  do  him  honor,  beg  that  John  Fox 
Potter  will  accept  congratulations  and  the  accompanying  flow- 
ers on  the  occasion  of  his  eightieth  birthday. 

John  R.  Goodrich, 
In  behalf  of  the  members  of  the  Phantom  Club. 
To  Hon.  John  Fox  Potter,  Pottawattamie  Manor.  Mukwonago. 


East  Troy,  Wis.,  May  13,  1897. 
John  R.  Goodrich,  Esq.,  President  of  the  Phantom  Club. 

My  Dear  Sir:  With  all  my  heart,  I  thank  you,  and, 
through  you,  the  members  of  the  Phantom  Club,  for  their  great 
kindness  and  congratulations,  and  fragrant  remembrance  of  me 
on  my  eightieth  birthday,  and  for  their  more  than  kind  words 
accompanying  the  beautiful  flowers. 

Please  express  to  the  gentlemen  of  the  Club  my  most  grate- 
ful thanks  for  their  kindness  and  my  sincere  wish  for  the 
health  and  prosperity  of  each  of  the  members. 

Gratefully  yours, 

John  F.  Potter. 


VI. 

131  Avenue  de  Villiers. 
Paris,  June  22,  1903. 

My  Dear  Mr.  Goodrich  :  Your  amiable  communication 
reached  me  in  due  season,  and  we  were  able  to  join  you  in  your 
libations.  We  raised  our  glass,  filled  with  the  rich  wine  of 
Burgundy,  and  drained  it  to  the  health  of  the  members  of  the 
Phantom  Club  at  the  appointed  hour. 

I  send  a  cordial  greeting  to  you  all.  Nothing  could  have 
afforded  me  greater  satisfaction  than  the  privilege  of  joining 
you  in  your  outing.     I  thank  you  heartily  for  your  invitation. 


122  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

M.  Amos  A.  L.  Smith,  of  Milwaukee,  called  upon  me  l-ecently, 
and  gave  me  information  concerning  Lake  Beulah  :m<l  other 
points  of  interest  on  your  programme.  It  was  a  great  pleasure 
for  me  to  bear  him  converse  upon  a  section  of  my  native  land 
which  I  know  only  from  hearsay.  I  hope  at  no  distant  date  to 
become  acquainted  with  the  country  and  its  charming  inhab- 
itants. 

Believe  me,  dear  Mr.  Goodrich,  yours  most  cordially, 

Benjamin  F.   Deeeing. 


FUNERAL  OF  JOHN  FOX  POTTER. 

John  Fox  Potter  died  May  18,  1899,  at  his  home 
on  the  shore  of  Potter's  Lake,  Walworth  county,  aged 
82  years;  and  on  the  22d  of  the  same  month  his  re- 
2iiains  were  laid  to  rest  in  the  family  burial  plot,  within 
one  hundred  yards  of  the  spot  on  which  he  had  lived 
for  more  than  sixty  years.  The  Phantom  Club  was 
represented  at  the  funeral  by  President  John  E.  Good- 
rich, De  Witt  Davis,  James  A.  Bryden,  John  G.  Greg- 
ory, Eolland  L.  Porter,  E.  W.  Chafiu  and  Joseph  V. 
Quarles.  After  the  conclusion  of  the  formal  service, 
Senator  Quarles  said: 

Friends  :  The  members  of  the  Phantom  Club  have  come  to- 
gether to  lay  some  blossoms  upon  the  grave  of  one  who  was  in 
some  sense  the  godfather  of  the  organization.  Beyond  this  we 
had  no  thought  of  taking  part  in  the  ceremonies.  However,  the 
earnest  request  of  the  family  is  accepted  by  us  as  a  command, 
and  I  am  instructed  to  express  the  sorrow  we  all  share  as  wo 
stand  around  this  open  grave,  We  arc  assembled  in  the  same 
beautiful  grove  where,  at  an  early  day,  the  deceased  came  as  a 
young  pioneer  to  establish  a  home :  to  this  place  he  gladly  re- 
tired to  spend  the  evening  of  life,  after  the  heat  and  burden 


APPENDIX.  123 

of  his  career.  He  first  looked  upon  this  landscape  through  the 
eyes  of  a  lover,  and  became  infatuated.  He  built  a  snug  little 
log  cabin,  but  he  could  not  bring  his  young  wife  until  he  had 
laid  in  a  store  of  provisions,  which  were  not  to  be  had  this  side 
of  Lake  Michigan.  There  were  no  means  of  transportation  at 
hand,  and  he  therefore  trundled  a  loaded  wheelbarrow  some 
thirty  miles  across  the  unfenced  prairies  to  this  place.  That 
might,  perhaps,  be  called  a  "sentimental  journey."  It  disclosed 
at  all  events  the  unflinching  determination  of  the  man.  Here 
he  reared  his  family,  and  throughout  his  long  life  this  secluded 
retreat  has  been  to  him  what  the  poet  Horace  celebrated  in 
song  as  his  "little  Sabine  Nest." 

Shortly  before  our  friend  died  he  was  propped  up  in  bed  at 
his  request.  The  windows  were  thrown  open  that  he  might 
gaze  once  more  upon  this  landscape  as  the  first  rays  of  the 
morning  sun  kissed  the  spot  endeared  to  him  by  so  many  tender 
ties,  and  so  that  his  dull  ear  might  catch  again  the  morning 
chorus  of  the  song  birds  that  he  loved  so  well.  This  very  spot 
he  chose  as  his  own  last  resting  place. 

John  F.  Potter  was  a  modest,  unassuming  man,  but  he  had 
the  courage  of  a  lion.  He  was  fully  equal  to  all  the  emergen- 
cies of  pioneer  life  and  gained  great  popularity  among  the 
settlers  of  Southeastern  Wisconsin.  He  represented  the  old 
First  District  in  Congress  during  the  stirring  times  that  pre- 
ceded the  great  rebellion.  It  was  a  period  of  intense  excite- 
ment all  over  the  land,  but  Washington  was  the  natural  focus. 
The  Southern  "fire-eater"  was  very  much  in  evidence  in  both 
houses  of  Congress.  His  forensic  eloquence  was  employed  to 
fire  the  Southern  heart.  It  was  a  standing  threat  to  disrupt 
the  Union  if  necessary  to  safeguard  "the  Divine  Institution." 
It  was  quite  the  fashion  for  Southern  men  to  denounce  their 
Northern  brethren  as  cowards,  and  mudsills.  Southern  knight- 
hood was  then  in  flower.  All  prowess  and  chivalry  were  sup- 
posed to  belong  to  the  sunny  South,  while  the  blue-nosed  Yankee 
was  looked  upon  with  pity  and  contempt.     It  was  a  common 


124  PHANTOM  CLUB  PAPERS. 

it  that  one  Southern  gentleman,  skilled  in  horsemanship  and 
in  Hie  use  of  firearms,  was  a  match  for  about  ten  Yankee 
shopkeepers. 

One  afternoon,  after  a  heated  debate,  a  scrimmage  took 
place  on  the  floor  of  the  House,  when  John  F.  Potter  demon- 
strated with  his  good  right  arm  that  the  Southern  estimate  was 
somewhat  at  fault,  as  he  proceeded  in  lay  out  four  or  five 
Southern  bullies  in  quick  succession.  Thereupon  he  was,  ac- 
cording to  the  practice  of  that  day,  promptly  challenged  to  meet 
one  of  his  Southern  antagonists  on  the  field  of  honor,  where 
vulgar  weapons  like  the  human  fist  were  barred.  To  the  sur- 
prise of  everybody,  and  more  especially  of  the  Southern  group, 
rotter  promptly  accepted  the  challenge,  appointed  his  second, 
and.  being  the  challenged  party,  claimed  his  right  to  choose 
the  weapons,  and  named  bowie  knives.  This  was  a  trying  situ- 
ation for  the  doughty  challenger.  lie  had  no  idea  of  offering 
his  precious  body  to  be  carved  by  a  long  knife  wielded  by  the 
sinewy  arm  which  he  had  encountered  the  day  before.  So,  to 
the  amusement  of  the  whole  nation,  the  duel  was  called  off. 
This  incident  had  much  to  do  with  abolishing  the  duello  in  the 
United  States.  How  many  thousand  precious  lives  might  have 
been  spared  if  Southern  men  had  taken  the  practical  hint  that 
Potter  gave  them  as  to  the  courage  and  determination  of  the 
Northern  man!  It  took  four  years  of  cruel  war  to  convince 
the  Southern  people  that  Potter  was  right. 

The  career  just  closed  well  illustrates  the  evanescence  of 
fame.  When  the  bowie  knife  flashed  in  the  lime-light  before 
the  delighted  eyes  of  his  compatriots,  Mr.  Potter  was  a  great 
hero.  He  suddenly  achieved  national  prominence,  but  how 
soon  was  it  all  forgot !  The  war  came  on  and  washed  out  with 
blood  those  earlier  triumphs  of  the  days  of  peace.  Potter,  in 
the  course  of  time,  dropped  behind  the  procession,  as  every 
public  servant  is  doomed  to  do.  For  years  his  existence  was 
almost  forgotten.  He  belonged  to  an  earlier  era.  But  when  a 
little  group  of  gentlemen,  who  were  destined  to  be  the  founders 


APPENDIX.  125 

of  this  club,  chanced  to  come  this  way,  they  discovered  him 
anew.  They  found  the  reminiscences  of  the  stirring  ante- 
bellum period,  as  related  by  this  modest  man,  not  only  enter- 
taining but  of  absorbing  interest.  The  next  summer  these  gen- 
tlemen came  again  and  brought  others  with  them.  All  were 
charmed  with  the  beauty  of  the  place  and  edified  by  the  dis- 
course of  their  newly  found  friend.  Thereafter  this  home,  on 
this  wooded  knoll  overlooking  the  beautiful  lake,  became  the 
Mecca  of  the  Phantom  Club.  Mr.  Potter  was  made  an  honorary 
member,  and  we  looked  upon  him  almost  as  our  patron  saint. 

Now  that  he  has  gone  from  us,  it  only  remains  for  the 
Phantoms  of  to-day  to  salute  the  phantom  of  yesterday.  We 
honor  him  for  his  courage,  his  patriotism,  his  kindly  courtesy. 
We  shall  cherish  his  memory  as  an  inspiration.  We  leave  him 
here  to  sleep  upon  this  gentle  eastern  slope,  where  the  feathered 
songsters  will  herald  the  birth  of  every  summer  day,  until 
another  winged  choir  shall  proclaim  the  dawn  of  the  eternal 
morning. 


APPENDIX.  127 


$n  0itmQti&m 


Horace  Bublee 

©ctober  19,  1896 

Benfamfn  feuttf?  filler 

September  12,  IS98 

William  $♦  McLaren 

Jflarch  2,  1904 

3ol)tx  go^njston 

2ftme  l,  1904 


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